My Life
by Biocide
Summary: Yeah, my life sucks. Battling with aliens who hates us for no reason, decisions i have no idea why are made, and being captured to be the enemy's lab rat. Yeah, my life's a blast.
1. The End of the Begining

Bullets flew through the air, shattering upon impact on the walls and occasionally a body. My squad and I were holding out, if only barely. I come from behind my cover, showering the enemies with bullets of my duel wielded SMG guns, and then just as quickly diving back into cover, plasma bullets flew by, too close for comfort. I look over at what remains of my squad, putting our numbers up against how much of the enemy I saw. Let's just say that it's amazing that we've stayed alive for this long. Just an hour ago, our station was ambushed by those bastards, taking no prisoners, killing anyone that wasn't on their side. By the looks of it, they've managed to have killed all the scientists at this base, and over half of the marines stationed here. About three full phantoms came out of thin air and took out most of our defenses before letting about thirty squads of those little shits to take out what was left of our base.

Being the only squad on this floor left, I glanced over to my comrades to see how they were holding up. Not very well. Jenny had blood oozing out of her side like no tomorrow, while Kim was doing her best to patch it up. Jenny's eyelids flickered, fighting to keep conscious as Kim finished sewing up the gash. Jenny was a pretty average girl I would say, straight brown hair that went just passed her collar bone and hazel eyes, average personality but something about her made me pick her to be on my squad. Probably her determination to get the job done, up until a moment ago she was fighting like no other, taking down a few grunts and even a few jackals with her pistols and shotgun. Thankfully for us, there weren't many elites on this floor, one or two dead but not that many were left. Kim was special; she knew everything about the human body and could figure out what was wrong with you by the sound the bullet made on your body. She had her black hair in a bun, and chocolate brown eyes were complemented by her dark skin. Her upbeat personality made her impossible to be hated. Well, by humans at least. She's the medic of the team. She is also the one in the group that keeps everyone sane.

"Eat this you son of a bitches!" _**BOOM!**_ Well, almost everyone.

Terra was currently chucking grenades over the make-shift cover we're using while laughing a sinister laugh, aiming for the center of the enemy groups and taking out the ones around them. She had short red hair that could make you see her in any sized crowd, it being so bright you could hardly miss it. Her green eyes stood out the most though; they somehow almost glowed in the dark. Her cocky and bad assed attitude has gotten more than enough fights out of almost everyone on the team, but her aim and throwing arm makes her a great asset to the team. A sudden movement caught my eye and I turn to see Dan shoot a rocket at the mass of jackals at the door. They try to dodge but they aren't fast enough, the luckiest of them only gets out with 2nd degree burns. Dan has black hair with the front few strands being cobalt blue. Though it goes against protocol, he says it's natural, and we are damned well lucky to have him here. Damn, now here's a guy I'll never forget. He's saved my ass more than a few times in the past, more than I would allow for him to say. He's the explosive kinda guy, even though he has a calm nature on the field. His trained blue eyes scan the battle before ducking back into cover, a few plasma burns on the wall behind him not a moment too soon after. When we aren't on a mission though, he can get a chuckle or two out of anyone, even Mike.

Mike is a stern guy, the strong silent type someone could say. He's the stealthiest person around, even though he's the biggest person on the squad. Standing at 6'4" ad weighing over 210 pounds of pure muscle, it's a wonder how he can stay hidden in a room and not be noticed. He's the brother of Kim, his features being the same color as her's but a tone darker. He's also the sniper in the team; he can make a hit even if he can't see you, the bullet bouncing off a wall or two before making its mark. Turning my head, my eyes flicker down at our most recently dead team member. Jimmy had blond hair, though now most of it was soaked with the blood coming out of the head shot. Damned bastards brought a few snipers with them. His bright blue eyes would never see the light of day again, and he was so young too. The freckles on his cheeks were covered with dirt and grime from him running in after spotting the ground troops closing in on our position. It was raining when this all started, though I have no idea if it still is or not, since we're two floors underground. He had been one of the newest members, fresh out of boot camp, along with his twin sister, Ally.

Speaking of her, I took the risk and glanced at her, her tear-stained face twisted in sorrow for the loss of her brother, and the hatred of his killers. I can only imagine how hard it is, losing a twin right before your eyes. Identical twins always were said to have a special bond, and these two defiantly had it. No doubt she felt the same pain he felt before shutting down; by the way she's giving the enemy hell with the torrent she got her hands on. They were the prankers of the team, always getting a riot out of us; good or bad. Then last member of our squad was- An agonizing scream sliced through the air as time seemed to slow down. Slowly turning my head, eyes wide in disbelief and horror at the sight. A body being suspended in the air by the glowing sword, through the chest cavity and right up to the hilt, was- _**"NO!"**_

I shot straight up, sweat covering my body as I fought to catch my breath. The monitor going off the chart, people began rushing into the room. I fought their attempts to calm me down, tears streaming down my face. I finally had it and screamed a low, sorrow filled cry, just before pain shot up my arm and the world went black again.

_It hadn't always been like this. The world used to be normal, yeah a few wars going on, humans against humans, but we had a better chance of surviving those fights. Now, those already low chances of survival were divided in half. The day the world turned up-side-down, I wasn't even born. Both pairs of my grandparents were in the military then, all still in their teen years, unfortunately they were killed when their kids hit the ages of eighteen and twenty. It hit my mom and dad hard, but they made it through. Then my parents joined the military. After they got out, they met up again and got married. My parents had my brother, Jacob, and had moved to a different habitable planet called Harmony after a few years of the battle on Harvest. Back then, the news that Harvest had been attacked by aliens shocked everyone, we always had a feeling we weren't alone in the universe, but we never would have thought that we would have come in contact with another life form._

_Or, in this case, being contacted by them with a plasma bullet through your gut._

_Harmony is in a different galaxy, yet close enough to the galaxy Harvest was in where the aliens could come and attack our world just as easily as they had done to them. Unfortunately, the planet was glassed. Billions, if not more, of lives lost in the attack. A few years after my parents hadn't heard anything from the UNSC about the attackers near Harmony, I was born. My brother got his looks from our mom, and I got my looks from our dad; maroon-ish hair that shown red in the light, with eyes that resembled a storm. I like that whenever I'm mad, they look like their moving, like the clouds do while a raging storm is going on. I'm sure that if Jacob would grow his hair out, he would almost pass for our mom when she was 10 years old. I used to make fun of him for it, being the annoying little 7 year old sister I was, and he would make fun of me for looking like our dad if I cut my hair too short, which the hairstylist occasionally did on accident. They've known us for years yet they always seem to make the same mistake. Very suspicious._

_We didn't mind the teasing each other though; to us, our parents were heroes._

_They were both in the military, dad being a soldier, and mom being a pilot. She flew his team into a battle against Reach, and almost immediately had to turn around to pick up the survivors. Apparently, there were some mine fields there and it didn't turn out too pretty. Dad and a few other surviving members of the squad were transported on her plane, and made some small talk to try and keep the wounded alive. I guess then they grew on her and she used to visit them in the medical bay, keeping their minds off their wounds temporarily. Some of the members on dad's squad said they had a few crushes on her, some of them didn't even need to say anything it was so obvious. Dad himself had a crush on her, I mean, who wouldn't? Looking at a few pictures of her in those years, she was very beautiful. Golden brown hair with the brightest emerald eyes anyone has ever seen. She didn't date anyone she worked with, but dad was an exception. Jacob's eyes were a tone darker, making it look forest green, while his hair was a lighter color, dirty blond pretty much. Luckily Jacob didn't get her beauty looks, or else she would've dressed him in girl clothes. She always wanted a girl, so they had me._

_Too bad I wasn't the girly girl my mom wanted; sarcasm included. __Nope, I was a downright tom boy._

_When I was a kid, I didn't play with dolls, I played in the mud. When I was in school, I played sports instead of gossiping. I was 17 when I joined the Marine Corps, Jacob was 20, but started a year before me. He wanted to get college done and over with, so he did that and I went straight into the military after high school. He got four years of college done in two, yeah- he was that smart._

_He always did get the better grades and aced all the tests, but if the test was a physical one, I could still pin him down easily. I had never shot a gun in my life, other than in video games. To say I was excited was an understatement. I couldn't sleep for days, I was so eager to learn how to shoot a gun. Though I nearly fell asleep on my feet the day they would train us with guns and had to do pushups until my arms felt like they would fall off; it was worth the wait. I knew I would have to kill something with that knowledge, I didn't like it but I never said anything. It was obvious. Besides being a tough gal, I cried for all the lifeless bodies I saw, even the ones not on our side. Not in public, mind you, but whenever I was alone I would._

_Then came the day where I was sent off on a mission, a real one, not a search-for-survivors-after-the-battle mission; that was a day I will never forget. Every second of that day, I remember. I didn't sleep again, insomnia was a regular thing by now, and I had gotten separated in the middle of the mission. The mission consisted that we were to be back up for another squad unit, who came under fire by unknown forces while checking out a new habitual planet. Probably the alien bastards again. The gunshots had stopped and I spotted something while we were looking for more attackers. Curiosity ran in my blood, so I checked it out. Before I realized it, I was lost, and had no idea where my squad was._

_I was a private back then, 3 months after getting out of boot camp. I was in some kind of warehouse, the occasional flicker of a surviving light bulb, and it was dead quiet. I kept my gun ready, just like they taught us in the camp, and checked behind me every so often. As I sneaked almost silently down the hall, nothing but the slight crunching of my combat boots, I heard something shift._

_My muscles tensed, I paused, listening. A tiny whine came from further down the hall. Making as little noise as possible, I crept up to the location. Peering around into a room with the door half knocked off its hinges, I came face to face with the enemy. I froze up, my pupils widening behind my helmet shield. My breath caught in my throat and my eyelids snapped shut as I waited for something, anything, to end my life. Nothing happened. I cracked open an eye and realized that there was only one, was hurt, and didn't know I was right there._

_Its eyes were closed, it's odd mouth shut tight as it groaned in pain. One of its hands was covering up a hole on its stomach, a dark liquid seeping out beneath its fingers. __One of its legs was twisted and the other hand was clenched into a fist. I blinked; it was in no condition to fight. Taking it one step at a time, I entered the room. The creature didn't seem to notice me until I was a few feet away from it. The thing opened one of its eyes; the orange color of it surprised me. I froze in my movement, staring at the alien as it stared at me. I took a hesitant step closer, it didn't move. Another step, it didn't move. The only thing telling me that it didn't die right after it looked at me was the small rise and fall of its chest. I slowly kneeled down by it, gun still pointed at it. I licked my lips, then after a few deafening minutes, softly asked-_

"Can you understand me?"

It only blinked, confusion showing lightly in its pain filled eye. I bit my lip in thought before asking again.

"Please… can you understand me?"

Its other eye opened before it said something. Huh, for an advanced civilization, it didn't have very good translators. Humans at least could figure out what the heck other humans were saying. The language was very odd to me, but I heard it from a few aliens, the larger ones mostly. I never looked at them enough to realize that other than their shapes and sizes, _and guns,_ that they were very different from the others. This one had four things on its mouth... or _was_ it its mouth? Now I knew why other marines call them "split-lips". They moved every time he made one of those noises, and I caught a few glimces of sharp teeth that made my blood change temperature. The armor it was wearing reminded me of the armor people used to wear, it being some kind of metal but not fully covering all its body. The face was mostly visible, even though I knew the aliens had some kind of energy shield around that was hard to break through.

I sighed, we're not gonna go anywhere this way. I find that my hand had subconsciously taken out my carry on medical kit. Looking at the wound in its gut, I made up my mind and opened the kit. Taking out some gauze and antibiotics, I look up to see its gun in my face. I gulp; looking up through the alien machinery gun is a scary thing. I slowly let go of the stuff and hold up my hands. I lick my lips.

"I'm not going to hurt you; I just want to patch up that wound." I nodded towards its torso.

It's blazing orange eyes never looking away from me. I licked my lips again, a new forming habit of mine when I'm nervous.

"Please." I say, looking up at its eyes.

Its eyes narrow, then slightly moves the gun down and away from me. I sigh in relief and pick up the supplies, the gun always pointed at my head, its eyes always following my movements. I slowly shift so I'm by its side, and I set the supplies on the ground. I glance nervously at the gun, and then up at the towering being. I look down at the wound and slowly reach to grab the hand, it lets me, and I set its hand by its side, giving me a good look at the wound.

It doesn't look too good. I can see the creature's organs function, and blood pumping out of the wound.

I swallow the lump in my throat, keeping my stomach at bay even if slightly so. I was never good at biology things, and seeing the insides of a living being always made me sick to the stomach. That's why they're on the inside, so you don't have to look at them.

I glance back up at the gun while reaching for the wound. I grab what looks to be the body suit, and I tore it open a little more to see the whole wound. The dark skin and the purple blood and organs clash, even in the darkness of the room. I grab the disinfectant and glance up at the being, its long neck and head being taller than me by at least a good two or three human heads, even when it was slumped against the wall. _Damn I hope it doesn't shoot me when it stings._

I take out a cotton swab and dunk it in the alcohol, then start dabbing the wound. The being growls as it starts stinging and I glance at it again, its eyes showing distrust, pain, and hatred for my race, but it doesn't show any more signs that it'll shoot me. I finish dabbing the alcohol around the wound careful to not let it touch its organs. That would seriously hurt like hell, and add some things to my death warrant. I put it aside and grab a cloth, wiping up the indigo blood that still seeps out of the wound, and then I grab the alien hand and put the cloth in it, then set it on the wound. Putting a little bit of pressure on it makes it growl louder and I flinch before taking my own hand away. It keeps its hand there while I take out a needle and string it. I take its hand off and I try to get the skin by the wound to come together again. When that's done, I start to sew it up. I started thinking, my hands sewing up the wound with minds of their own.

I have no idea what has come over me, to help the enemy when I could have easily killed it before it got its gun and aimed it at my head, but here I am, patching the thing up. It'll probably shoot me when I'm done, but strangely I just want to finish patching it up before that happens. I cut the string, the wound making a decent sized scar, about five inches long I would say. I take out some more cloth and dab the rest of the blood away before putting more medicine on it. Then I take the gauze and tape it on, covering the newly patched up wound. I sit back on my legs and sigh, wiping the blood on my pants.

I look up as it shifts into more of a sitting position, it looking at the bandages. I didn't even realize the gun wasn't aimed at my head anymore. Looking at its leg, I see that the worst it could be, is a sprained ankle or, err, hoof. Putting away the medical kit, I pick up my gun and stand, and then turned to the alien. It wasn't there. My eyed widened when the barrel of a carbine touched my back. Slowly, I looked over my shoulder at the alien, wide eyed. It stared at me before pushing me towards the hall. Gun lowered, I did what it wanted. Facing the wall now, I heard the footsteps stop, and then started to fade away. I faced it, it's back behind me.

"What…?" It barely made it passed my lips before I heard a human shout my name. I looked down the opposite hallway, then back at the alien. It was looking at me over its shoulder, I stared back. It gave me a curt nod, then resumed walking down the hall. I blinked, hearing my name again. I still stood there, watching its retreating form.

"Jay"

It stopped, looking back at me. It's orange eyes blinked at me, then at the hand that was pointing at myself.

"My name is Jay."

When it turned back around, I felt crestfallen. I thought I could learn his name, then maybe see him again on the battle field.

He resume walking, leaving me standing in the hallway. Without looking back, it said something that sounded like "Zeuk" before disappearing around the corner. I blinked. _Did…. Did he just understand me?_ I then turned when I heard them call my name again. I started running down the hall, towards the voices. _Zeuk… I hope we meet again, on the same side. _


	2. Wouldn't Dream Of It

**A/N: Hey guys, just letting you know that I am looking for a beta… even though I don't know half of what they do xD; I know they look over your story before you post it (maybe…) haha, if you're interested or have nothing else to do, I've got about 30 pages or more for you to look at.**

**Also, for this whole story because these are so annoying; I do not own Halo, only my own characters.**

I slammed into something solid and looked up, gun ready. "Point that gun somewhere else, soldier." I immediately jumped into a salute. "Sir, sorry, sir!" He grinned. I snapped out of it and gave him a punch in the arm. "Sorry, but you always fall for that, Jay."

"Yeah, yeah. One of these days it'll be someone else and I'll get my assed kicked for _not_ doing it. Just know that when that day comes, I'll come and kick _your_ ass, Jac."

He laughed at that, leading me back to the squad. Sam, the heavy duty girl of the squad was talking to Jenny, the medic. I remembered with a pang of sadness that Peter and Matt had died right after we got here, being ambushed by a few sniper jackals. "Hey Jay," I snapped out of it and looked at Andrew, the explosion lover of the squad. His shaved head was blocked by his helmet and the shield covered his grey eyes, but a small check shaped dent on the already scratched and worn helmet gave away his identity. Why? I gave him that dent. "Where've ya been?"

"Had to check something out, thought I saw something back there." I sat down on one of the smaller crates nearby, behind Joan who was on the floor. "Well next time, tell one of us or stay nearby. We don't wanna go look'n for ya every five minutes." His grin gave away the seriousness. "Yeah, I'll get right on that. You know I can't resist."

A head banging boom stopped the grin from forming on my face. Immediately, I jumped off the crate and took cover, just in time to keep my head from not being blown off by a brute shot. "Take cover!" I heard Jacob shouted. A beam rifle shot burned through the wooden crate I was taking refuge by and gave me a perfect hole to aim my battle rifle. I looked through the scope and observed the enemy, taking out a few grunts along the way. The group mostly contained brutes and jackals, and a few grunts that were quickly eliminated. Aiming at a jackal, it's shield already up, I aimed at the hand and fired. The three bullets bounced off the handle and plunged into the bird alien's side.

I aimed at a brute next, luckily there were no chief brutes or anything with a gravity hammer, or we'd be screwed. Taking a shot, the bullets bounced of the shield before another two sets of bullets got through and into its helmet. A rocket suddenly detonated and sent it flying back into the wall, red blood leaving a nice splatter around it. I gave a glance at Andrew in thanks before taking out my sniper rifle and shooting another brute in the eye, it coming down after the bullet hit its tiny little brain. Jacob and Jenny were quickly killing off the jackals with their assault rifle and shotgun. Sam threw a grenade over to them, killing another brute and jackal while Joan finished the fight with a blow to a brute's head.

"Yeah! Suck it Covenant scum!" Joan shouted.

"You just sat there before killing ONE brute." Sam deadpanned.

"So? Killing one of those baby kongs takes a lot out of you." She grinned while Sam did a face-palm.

"Ok, that's enough chatter. No doubt other Covies heard that fight so we have to move out or risk being attacked again. I don't know about you, but I'm starting to get low on ammo." Jacob stated, looking down at his assault rifle which read 23, and only having one more magazine for it. The rest of us grumbled in agreement. While our weapons take a lot of ammo to take a Covie down, Covenant weapons just required a few shots to take one marine down. I started walking over to the dead group, checking their weapons and how much ammo they have. I was out of bullets for my battle rifle and had a full bag of ammo for my sniper rifle, but I wanted to be ready for the upcoming close ranged battles.

"Hey Jay, what are you doing?" I heard Jenny ask. Without looking up, "Looking for a new gun." The rest of the squad came over and started looking too, while Jacob stood on look out.

"Where's that one gun the monkey had? I bet it'll cause a lot of damage to their own species." Andrew said. Without a word, Sam threw him the brute shot, earning a pleased grin from Andrew, even when he fell on his ass b te weight of the alien technology.

My eyes searched the bodies of the deceased enemies, before spotting something I've never seen before. I picked it up, examining it. "What'd you find?" I jumped before spinning around. I gave Jacob a glare before looking back down at the object in my hand. "I don't know, never seen one."

"Maybe you stab them in the head with it." Joan suggested. I rolled my eyes, like I'd last long enough to run up to one of them and do that. I turn it over in my hands before clipping it to my belt. I'll give it to the tech people and see if they can figure out what it is later. I pick up a beam rifle and strap it to my back, then grab two plasma rifles. From what I've seen, these weapons do a lot in little amounts of time. The others pick similar weapons and nod to one another, before Jacob gives the okay and we head off into another hall.

The door slid open and light blinded our vision before the sounds of war reach our ears. We look down to see bullets and plasma fly everywhere. "Did anyone notice going up a ramp or something?" Jacob asked. No answer. "Good, than it wasn't just me." He said before giving hushed orders for us to spread out along the outside of the second floor. Joan and I run along and set up behind some of the larger debris from crashed air ships and such, she setting up her sniper rifle and I with the beam rifle as the others do similar things. Jacob counts down from three, then we join the fight. I'm surprised by the little recoil of the alien weapon before aiming another shot at a Chieftain with a gravity hammer, it hits between his neck and torso armor, killing it and almost falling on top of the marine it was about to strike. We picked off most of the grunts and jackals, and worked together on the brutes. Soon, it was no one but marines. We jump off of the second floor, onto some boulders nearby and make our way down from there, regrouping with our comrades.

"Boy, are we glad to see you!" A marine exclaims. The marine I saved earlier comes up to me after spotting the beam rifle. "Hey, I owe you one." He smiles at me. I return the gesture and nod. Jacob and another marine are talking, then they turn to face us. "Ok, listen up marines. UNSC drop ships are going to pick us up for evac three units from this location. If we don't encounter anymore Covies, then we'll get there with fifteen minutes to spare. Understood? We make way towards the beach, then head north. Keep to the shadows and if we're spotted, I want you to run to those drop ships and get out of here. Understood?" A chorus of "Sir, yes sir!" is heard and we start running towards the beach that's in view. Keeping to the shadows, Jacob runs up beside me. "Jay, listen." By the tone of his voice, this aint gonna be good. "If I don't get out of here-" I cut him off. "You will. End of discussion. If you're gonna order me to leave you behind, I'm not going to follow it. We promised to mom and dad that we'd keep each other alive, and I tend to keep that promise."

He frowns. "And I will be keeping that promise too, I'm just saying, if I go down, I don't want you to put yourself in danger."

I smirked. "If you haven't noticed yet, we're in the middle of a war here."

He sighed. "Just… don't get killed, ok?" I grinned, not answering. "Jay…" He glares at me. I laugh before running on ahead.

Plasma fly passed me as I ran like hell across the beach. The others are either already on the pelican, or ahead of me preparing to. Why did I have to trip? Then again, it saved me from a shot to the head. What's with them and wanting to shoot my head? This would probably be the fifth time today that they tried to shoot me there. We were halfway to the pelicans when we were attacked, and now is the second time I wish that I was faster at running. The first time was when I wanted to beat another kid up but they were faster than me, they got away, but I hunted them down and got my vengeance. Heh heh. I swiftly turn around and run backwards, aiming the two plasma rifles at the enemy as I shoot.

"WHY DON'T YOU JUST LEAVE US ALONE ALREADY?" I was answered with a plasma shot to my shoulder. The mere force of it made me fly backwards and land painfully on a boulder. "JAY!" I heard Jacob screaming, opening my eyes enough to see him fighting the other marines to come and get me. My head throbs, and my vision starts to go dark. I try to blink away the darkness, but they become heavier with every drop. The pain in my shoulder is excruciating, the pain feels like it's spreading down my arm and to my neck, like a cigarette would look and feel. I realize that I'm shaking, not the kind where you're cold, but that internal shake that you can control.

My vision is blurring now, my eyes transfixed on the pelican I tried so hard to reach. My head lulls to the other side, towards the incoming enemies. My eyes search the moving bodies, until I spot the one I was looking for. The bandages were still there, and his limp was obvious, but he didn't give up. He kept up with his comrades; in fact, he was running faster than all of them. I lift my sniper rifle form my back, using every ounce of will I had. I lined it up steady and took aim. Four rounds streaked through the air and four bodies hit the ground behind Zeuk as the rifle falls from my grasp and lands with a thud on the ground, striking up a cloud of dust while doing so. He glanced back at them, they were all brutes. Then he turns back around. Wait… what's this? Oh, never mind. I would have thought… just for a second I thought he was staring at me. But no matter, it doesn't matter now. He already raised his plasma rifle and aimed it at me. I closed my eyes, waiting for my end once more.

Again, it never came.

Instead of thanking whoever is watching over me, an annoyed groan sounds in my throat. Why wait? They should just get it over with already.

Pain racks through my body, a scream tearing out of my throat. My body is painfully half lifted, half dragged at an alarming speed as the scream dies in my throat, only to be renewed with my next breath. Gasping, I will my eyes to open; only to see dust coming up behind us and a few running legs in my vision. My head bobs up and down, side to side, and I use that momentum to see who or what was dragging me. All I saw were camouflaged uniforms and hands digging into both my arms and shoulders. Voices are muffled by my dying hearing as I hang limp in their grasp, legs dragging in the dirt, head slumped against my chest. The faint sounds of gunshots fill my mind, and I lift my head. My legs suddenly leave the ground, only to clunk harshly on the metal flooring of the UNSC pelican. I feel being let go, gently being laid on the floor. My head faces the closing door and I catch a glimce of the oncoming forms of the Covenant, seeing the one I met earlier. Why am I being concerned of him, while I'm the one bleeding to death? Why does he even stay on my mind, when I should be focusing on those around me? Why did I help him… when he's the enemy?

"Jay! Jay! Stay with me, you hear? Don't you _dare_ die on me, damn it!" I hear Jacob yelling desperately at me, and suddenly his hands are on either side of my head, shaking me, and he brings his head down so he's looking in my eyes. _"Don't you dare die!" _

I cracked open my eyes again, looking him straight in the eye as my eyes struggle to focus. I smiled weakly at him, bringing a shaky hand up to brush his cheek. The words burned in my throat, but I didn't care. "Wouldn't dream of it."


	3. One Hell of a Nightmare

**A/N: Thanks to everyone for reading this so far, please review if ya want, i want to know how good (or bad) i'm doing and stuff. Thanks :)**

_My hearing began to slowly come back before my sight. I struggled to open my eyes to see nothing but black. Great, all that effort and I turn out to be blind? Just great. I blinked a few more times, the action getting harder with each try. My hearing was still weak, everything being faint and muffled. I tested out my body, trying to twitch my hand; no luck. No feeling once so ever, no sight, and basically no hearing. It felt like eternity before something happened. Pain raked at my shoulder, invisible claws slicing and burning through my flesh. My neck arched and my mouth stretched to let out a screech of pain, but all that came out was a struggled whine. Another bullet of pain vibrates through my spine as a pressure is faintly felt on my hand. It feels like my whole body is asleep, but hurts like hell to move. I fall limp, gasping for breath as my eyes are stretched wide, desperately searching for something other than the pitch darkness that had acquainted me when I first awoke. Oh great, that internal shake had started up, nothing but pain filled my mind with each tremor. My eyelids are stretched to the fullest while my eyes feel like they're going through a stroke of their own. Breath sticks in my throat as my lungs start screaming for oxygen. Claws scratch at my insides as I try to desperately find out what's going on, or at least try to ease the pain that's clouding my mind. My lungs are on fire as electrical currents are suddenly forced into my body, the waves spreading out to the very tips of my fingers and toes. The intense thumping of my heart suddenly sounds from out of nowhere as my lungs finally expand once in an attempt to take in air, only to force it out as a cough racks throughout my system. It feels like my whole body decided to shut down, and left my mind to experience the aftermath. My head suddenly feels like it's being crushed and my face is cracking, something wanting to come inside my own mind. Then, just as sudden as it came, it left._

I shot up, gasping for breath. My eyes searched around as my heart started to ease into a slow rhythm. I place my hand on my chest and clench it. It felt so real, just like the others. It's been a week since my first mission, wounds still haven't healed in the slightest, and it haunts me every night. Jacob ran in and sat by me, carefully cradling me in his arms as I sobbed and tried to push those memories to the back of my mind without much luck. I died that day, I remembered, and lived to tell about it. I died that way, _twice._ I remember that they managed to get and drag me back to the awaiting pelican for immediate evac, and how Jacob was desperately trying to keep me with him. They had to perform CPR on me before they managed to get me to the medical bay back on the UNSC battleship, _Ass Kicker._ Yup, first kiss stolen when I was dead by a guy with blue hair. Really? _Come on._

There, they had to do surgery on my shoulder. I was in surgery for three hours before Jacob and the rest of the team got any updates on me. Thankfully the plasma didn't reach my heart; unfortunately it managed to expose its beating form; which hurt like _hell _by the way. The plasma took out a quarter of my lung and a big chunk of flesh. I had gotten third degree burns up to six inches around the hole in my torso, going half up the side of my neck and down to my elbow. They managed to seal up the hole and repair my half eaten lung by replacing it with a healthy donated one. Then they grew some of my skin cells and managed to patch up the hole with the speed-grown skin. Luckily they didn't go with the option of using someone else's skin; I would've been too grossed out if they did. Other people's organs are ok, but nothing I physically had to look at and bare for the rest of my life.

They had to replace and support some of my bones in the shoulder with metal, one of the strongest types there is actually. We didn't know it at the time, but they were experimenting on me; seeing if a normal human being could have that in their body and not be badly effect by it. In fact, it managed to improve my shoulder quite a bit. I could deal a lot more stress with that arm than my right, and I could throw better swings with it. Something in the metal altered my muscles on that side, something with the minerals in it or something, and we didn't realize that it was spreading further along my bones and muscles. The scar form the whole injury was pretty cool though, a scar I'll always like, and never forget what gave me it.

Anyways, when family was allowed to visit my unconscious body, he never left my side. For 36 hours I was out, in which they had to start my heart once more, the only time I actually felt it. Jacob was later told about what I felt during the time I was "dead", and he knows about how I usually feel that time in my nightmares. I don't know how he puts up with it though, I manage to wake at least half the other squads with my screaming, yet all he does is comes in and comforts me until I either calm down, or fall asleep. My chest jumps with another hiccup as Jacob rubs my back soothingly. The rumble in his chest vibrates against my ear as he hums the song mom used to sing to us whenever we had nightmares. My eyelids became heavy and began to droop as his voice managed to quiet my sobs and lull me to sleep.

_My face is in the dirt, and my body is numb. Something lifts me up by the back of my shirt; soon, I am face to face with an elite. It's left black eye had a scar going over it, visible even on the eye itself. The scar goes from the tip of it's eye ridge, down to it's lower half jaw. My eyes are stretched wide, but I cannot yell for help. Its jaws turn up in an alien like grin, before pain erupts from my abdomen. I coughed, metallic soon filling my mouth and I spit it out. I weakly look back up and gasp. The image morphs into something similar, but the orange eyes strike my core, a shiver running up my spine as I spot what is in its unoccupied hand. His arm goes back and he says "A mistake has been made, _human_. Now, you shall suffer for your sins." Plunging the energy sword into my gut as he finishes. Blood floods my mouth and runs down my chin. My body starts to grow cold, and I fight for breath. My vision goes black once again, but the pain does not subside._

I choked on air and clenched where the sword had struck me. My eyes whip around; making sure no one was in the room with me. Taking a struggled breath, I turn and let my legs dangle over the edge. Wincing as pain lingers in my body, most of it coming from my shoulder.

"What did it mean?" I breathed out. "Will I die because I helped that elite…?" My stomach answered with another spasm of pain and I wince. I brush the area where the blade had dug into my flesh, my skin burning. I shake my head, I must be getting crazy. Glancing at the clock that read 4 am, I force myself to my feet anyways. A walk couldn't kill me. Dressed in camouflaged shorts and a black tank top, I walk into the hallway, the door sliding shut behind with a soft _swish._ The only noise that could be heard in the dark hallways was my bare feet against the metal flooring. The floor was ice to the touch it seemed, but I shrugged it off, the cold only waking my tired body. After the nightmare, my mind was sharp, but my body needed this extra push.

My footsteps only grew quieter as my body woke up, stealth being an instinct now more than a skill. My eyes strained to see through the darkness, until I turned the corner and the star filled space filled my vision. Blinking, eyes adjusting to the new light, I looked around. No one was there thankfully. I used to be questioned about my old nightly trips around the base or ship, the people there getting used to it after a bit, but being on a new ship, a new surrounding was making me nervous. I didn't know my surroundings other than we were on a space craft, and I didn't like it. Walking close to the metal wall; staying clear away from the wall of see-through material. Being in space made me uneasy, if I had to escape, there was nothing but cold dark space to suck me in. On ground at least, there were numerous ways to get away. Walking down the hall, I looked around for some kind of sign or something to tell me where I was. No such luck as I turned the corner and was met yet again by a dark hall. I inwardly sighed, not too thrilled about being blind in unknown territory, and then made my way through the area. Occasionally turning right or left, I came to an abundant stop as realization hit me home. I forgot where my room was, and I had no way of getting back without either asking for directions (which, at 4 in the morning, no one should really be up, and I really didn't want to find out if the ships inhabitants were really human or not) or getting further lost by trying to go back and retrace my steps.

Weighing my options, I continued on, the situation being pointless anyway I look at it. Passing locked doors and staying clear of unlocked ones, I make my way through the darkness blindly. Muffled sounds of snoring reach my ears and I give a soft chuckle. _I have no idea how people can sleep with that noise, although they must all be tired enough to ignore it. If so… I wonder how they would be tired enough to ignore and fall asleep to _that _racket. _I brush the thought aside, never pausing my walk. Turning a corner, I pause. A chill runs up my spine, making the hairs on my neck rise. It feels like something is watching me in the darkness. I turn my head this way and that, but my eyes cannot see in the darkness. At times like these, I wish I was an elite or a Spartan, they can see in the dark easily; elites with their eyes alone, and Spartans with the help of their HUDs. Although, I'm sure they could see just fine in the dark without it.

My eyes still slowly searched my surroundings, my ears straining to hear even the slightest sound other than the sound of sleep from the nearby rooms. Minutes that felt like hours passed before I decided it was nothing. I willed the hair on my neck to lie flat before my muscles eased slightly, making me realize I was standing in a defensive pose the whole time. I blinked, then shook my head in my hand. _I must be losing it. Waking up on a ship is bad enough, but waking up wounded and on the edge is even worse. I bet that nightmare is affecting me more than I predicted._ "Damn nightmare, damn space, damn darkness, damn insomnia." I muttered under my breath.

I continued down the hallway after another moment, turning the corner at the end, only to find myself in a room, surrounded by the see-through material form earlier. Nothing, not even the floor was visible underneath my feet; just space. I gazed in awe, my unease from earlier forgotten. Distant planets and stars were scattered everywhere. The ship was going passed a planet closer than the others, the color being a lush green for the land, purples and blues for the water. I started to walk forwards, in a trance as I took in my surroundings. It felt great, just me and the stars and planets, and since I forgot that the doorway was the only indication was that I was still in a breathable environment, I would've believed that I was just floating in space, alone. The sensation was amazing. That is, until I ran into something and blacked out. _Great._

(?)

I walked down the darkened hall, used to these kinds of hours. I, along with my brothers and sisters, were trained to be ready at all times, now being on a ship, sleeping hours generally got mixed up for me. Insomnia didn't help my case either, so I'm stuck walking around the inactive UNSC ship, patrolling the halls and the decks just to do something. I looked out a window and gave a small scowl. Space isn't my territory, especially if we were to go into battle. Ground battles are more my style, it's easier to eliminate your enemy.

_Thud… Thud… Thud…_ was the only noise in the corridor, along with the near silent noises my suit made when moved. My movements froze, my eyes scanning the darkness ahead of me, then looked down to the scanner inside my HUD. A red dot appeared on the radar, drawing close towards my position. I glided to a slight dip in the wall, perfect for my body's width and stood there. My HUD's night vision turned on, its battery showing it was low and needed to be charged. I should tell Captain Schmed that next time I see him and see what we can do. The red dot drew closer, my fists raising, not needing the magnum in its holder on my thigh. I was about to spring when it came into view, just barely catching myself before I could kill the being. A girl stood a mere six inches from me, pausing and looking around. Her muscles tensed as she tried to surpass a shiver. Her eyes darted around before slowly surveying her surroundings. Her uneven cut hair swaying with her head as she turned it, looking this way and that. As she searched for the source of the chill that ran through her, I surveyed her, looking for something to tell of her name or rank. Nothing, her black wife beater shirt hung on her frame as her baggy camouflaged shorts seemed to be the only thing that gave me the impression she was in the military, besides the fact that she was standing on a war ship. _Although, she could be one of the civilian survivors we rescued from the last mission._ I considered the thought for a moment before tossing it away, noting the defensive position she took up. _That's _when I noted the damage her body has taken. Bandages covered the skin on her arms and legs, leaving her fingers and toes showing. Bandages were seen on her neck, no doubt wrapped around her torso, and a band aid on her forehead. Her left arm was in a sling, blood soaked bandages on the same shoulder.

Minutes passed before her muscles stopped eased reluctantly, another minute passed before she moved again. Taking her head into a hand, she shook it; muttering "damn" this and that. She started walking again after a moment and continued down the hall I came from. After a moment of keeping her on the radar, I quietly followed her retreating form. _Why am I following her? Oh yeah, nothing better to do. Either this, or wondering around dull hallways watching out for any hidden enemies. _Again.

I know I should have done the latter, but it gets boring after a while. A change is in order, for one night at least. I turn the corner after her and scooted back, peering around the corner. She stood in the room, nothing but space could be seen. Nothing on the ship showed, except if you looked back towards the doorway. Her body language told me she was shocked from the sudden difference of scenery. She looked around, her face showing awe. I'm confused, how can someone be awed by space so easily? Enemies could be lurking around in the darkness any minute of the day, and yet she's awed by it? I watched her for a few more moments, before she started walking more into the room. Then, she ran into the wall and passed out. _Well that was… odd._

I then sighed, walking over and picking up her body. _Hmm… light. Malnourished? _I shook the thought away and exited the observing room, carrying her to the infirmary.


	4. Tin Man

**A/N: Special thanks to everyone who has alerted, reviewed, and favorited this story. It means a lot! ^^**

**Disclaimer: this'll probably be he only time i do this... since i usually forget these kind of things. I don't own Halo, Master Chief, or anything like that... I only own my oc's ^^**

**Also, this IS my first Halo fanfic so... yeah, i'm really happy that it's not too bad xD**

**I've also became obsessed with Avatar: The Last Airbender... heh heh. I've been thinking of writing a story for that, so keep watching if you like that show too. If not, that's fine too of course :P**

**Also, my Warrior Cats story idea is on hold... it's kind of died... but i donno, it might be revived by the time the next book comes out; i'm not giving up hope yet!**

**This chapter has more action in it, but not much by my standards... i'm not very good with action scenes, even though i love them. Anyways- Enjoy! ^^**

_Ugh. It feels like my eyelids are glued shut. What happ- oh, yeah. I blacked out. _Again._ Why is it usually only me who keeps on passing out? I mean, what the hell man? Huh? What's the noise…? Sounds like…. Someone screaming at me. OW! What the fuck? Did they just stab my shoulders? Fuck that hurt … _

My eyes finally cooperated, snap open, and allows me to see; my hearing becoming clear soon after.

"_**JAY GET UP DAMN IT!" **_Ow, I wish it hadn't.

My body responds and I shoot up into a sitting position, almost head butting my wake up call. "Jay come on!" My arm feels like it's being torn off, oh wait, that's because I'm being dragged. Damn, it feels like everything's happening so fast… My head shoots up again. _What the hell just happened?_

"Jay, I need you to _stay awake for a fucking minute,_ ok? We're under attack!"

My mind clears and I stand on my own, head whipping from side to side. _"What?"_

A sigh is heard beside me. "Finally, thought I would have to cover your sorry ass even longer."

I turn to see none other than Jacob. "What's going on?"

"Covenant are attacking, they came out of nowhere. We have to get out of here, everyone's evacuating!" I cursed under my breath as I follow Jacob, not exactly knowing where the location for the pods is.

"How far?" I yell over the explosions and gun shots in the background.

"Not far- about half a click!" I groan; my body still hurting from my last mission. Jacob sensed it and grabbed my arm, making me run faster. "If we don't get there soon, they'll leave without us!" I nodded and pushed my body to go faster. We rounded a corner only to fall back again, Jacob tossing me his spare weapon and we shoot from behind the cover at a small enemy squad. As soon as the last one is shot, we sprint, not even waiting for the body to fit the floor.

Each move I made felt like a bullet being pierced into my body, and even with the help of the artificial gravity; running down stairs was a killer. I don't even want to know how it would feel if we have to go upstairs; I would know right then and there that I wouldn't make it.

The ship seems bigger when your body is screaming at you, instead of in the dark. It felt like we've been running for hours before we spotted a human face. Not so much friendly, but hey, it's human.

"Sir! Corporal Sulley and Private Sulley reporting!" Jacob stated, giving the higher up a crisp salute. I didn't even bother saluting; my arm felt like it'd just fall off if moving it was attempted. I was slumped against the nearest wall, wheezing for breath.

"No time for that, Corporal, we're in a battle zone. Keep on your toes and follow me, I'll get you to the escape pods alive." Jacob nodded before coming over to me and tried to coax me into moving again. I could barely shake my head before the higher ranked man barked at me to get on my feet. Jacob tried to tell him of my condition when plasma burned the wall behind him and the Sergeant. They ducked behind some cover and shot when they could. I took a heavy step, back pressed against the wail; the pistol in hand weighing like a ton of bricks. Sweat beaded my forehead by the time I could bring it up and shoot an incoming grunt before it could fire at me. The recoil was a bitch.

Note to self for future reference: don't shoot a magnum one handedly.

The grunt fell to the deck, then I took out another. I couldn't take it anymore and slumped back down against the wall, sliding into a half sitting, half laying down position; the pistol hanging loosely in my hand beside me. My chest heaved for breath as my eyelids fought to keep open. I looked down and saw that some of my old wounds and stitching had opened up; I took off my jacket slowly, and tied it around my stomach, where most of the blood was oozing out from. I looked back up, only to be pulled to my feet by the corporal and have my arm slung across the Sergeant's shoulders. He had to carry most of my weight, yet he acted like I weighed as light as the assault rifle in his other hand. My hand subconsciously clung to the pistol, it being draped over the sergeant's shoulder.

My left arm throbs in pain as it hangs limp at my side; useless. My legs dragged against the metal floor, occasionally helping the corporal in moving me.

In a battle, we met up with more marines, and the Sergeant passed me on like a sack of meat. My new helper is better built, and laid my body behind some cover while he and the others wiped out the competition. Jacob hung close to me, making sure I stayed awake and that I kept as much blood as I could. He couldn't help me move around, he was needed because he can aim and shoot with amazing accuracy. The Sergeant didn't want me interfering with Jacob's talent.

Wow, you can just _see_ how… _important…_ I feel right now.

The unknown helper of mine came back as the last enemy hit the deck with a blood splatter under it. He slung my arm over his shoulders, then found out that dragging me didn't help him much so I ended up being carried soldier-style on his shoulders. Both he and I could still shoot that way- one handed on my part, forgetting the note-to-self already- which came in handy with the upcoming enemy patrols. It took us another half an hour before we ran into a larger group of surviving marines. We exchanged information on the situation before the Sergeant had myself exchanged to someone else. I said a thanks to the one Sergeant had handed me off to first, before trying to walk over to the next person who was going to have me as a burden. My legs couldn't take my weight and I slumped against a nearby crate. I cursed at my luck, couldn't the covenant attack us, oh say, a few days later? Damn. My. Luck.

"GET DOWN!" I was suddenly tackled as a beam pierced the spot I was just in. My throat let loose a groan of pain as I looked up at my attacker.

Between gritted teeth, I ground out "Get. Off." He complied and shot at the sniper. I sat up slowly, holding my head as another wound opened; luckily it was a small one.

I managed to get out a "fuck that hurt" before being grabbed by the front of my shirt and I opened my eyes only to stare into the face of an elite. My eyes widened in surprise.

"Um…. Hi?" I gave a little wave before it seemed to sneer at me and aim its plasma rifle at my head. I winced and closed my eyes, only to open them as I land on the ground. I yelped when I landed, then looked at the dead form beside me.

"Come on, we gotta move!" The new guy said, slinging my arm around his shoulders and supporting me with an arm around my waist. I winced when I saw the bullet wound in the elite's head; I bet he never saw it coming. Whoever this guy is, I owe him.

Our group began to continue down the corridor, battle and enemies not near us yet. Other marines chatted amongst each other while Jacob and the Sergeant discussed the whereabouts of the escape pods. Apparently they were on the other side of the ship.

"So, what's your name?" I turn my head weakly to look at the guy dragging me in the corner of my eye.

"Who wants to know?" I managed to croak out with a small smirk.

"Well, if I am going to drag a sack of meat all the way to the other side of the ship, -most likely saving your ass again along the way- I kinda need to know the sack's name." He joked.

"Name's Jay, and I don't think the Corporal would appreciate you calling his sister a sack of meat." His eyebrow rose,

"Corporal Sulley?" He asked.

"Yes?" A voice came from the other side of him and his face slightly paled. He turned his head towards a dark faced; arms crossed in a bad assed way, Jacob, and gave a nervous smile.

"Um…"

"Sack of meat? Come on, I know you can do better." Jacob laughed, slapping the guy on his right shoulder, the shoulder he wasn't using to support me. The guy laughed after a quick moment and then Jacob was called over by the Sergeant again.

"What? Thought I was being serious?" I smirked, the conversation helping to keep my mind off my aching body.

"Well, yeah. I hear that Colonel Sulley can be harsh." I had to laugh at that.

"Jacob? Harsh? Yeah right. I bet that's just an act he has to put up in order to whip marines into shape and order. He's a really cool guy if you're on his good side. The only time I've seen him be mean is if he's pissed or if someone hurts me." He raised an eyebrow,

"Really? I thought the 'protective brotherly type' was just a cover up for weak brothers." I smirked, glancing at Jacob who caught what was being said. Jacob glared at him and was just about to tell him off when I spoke first.

"No way, Jacob is a tough guy; he's just protective of me. I mean, wouldn't you get mad if you had a little sister that was hurt? Wouldn't you want to kick the bastard's ass?" He considered this for a moment.

"Well… I guess so." I nodded slightly.

"Jacob isn't the kind of brother who's a pussy; he's a tough guy who doesn't want his sister to get her ass killed. He'll beat anyone up who harms me and kill anyone if they try to the second time… I mean, if they aren't dead already." I smirked, looking at him in the corner of my eye as my head had already slumped down. He laughed nervously and our conversation died. We were half way across a bridge when a sudden explosion behind us interrupted any and every of the others' conversations. Everyone whipped around in time to see part of the section of the ship we were just on blow up, more explosions following with moments in between. Everyone slowly started to run, eyes never leaving the incoming explosions.

"I think we should…. RUN!" someone shouted in panic as everyone was sprinting towards the end of the bridge. The guy and I were lagging behind and everyone was soon through the sealing off door when we were meters from it. The door started to close and Jacob ran back out to help. We sprinted, -I half dragged myself, half ran- and jumped through the closing opening of the door with a second to spare. An explosion shook the room we were in and everyone who was standing tried and mostly failed to keep their balance.

"We have to keep moving, who knows when this place will blow." A marine said and the Sergeant nodded.

"Alright marines, let's move." Everyone complied and we were left running through the door and down the hall. The Captain's voice came on the intercom, the ship shuttering with another explosion.

"Everyone for immediate evac, repeat; everyone for immediate evac." This just made our paces quicken even more. It seemed that everywhere we turned; we had to shoot or be shot at. The pain in my chest kept on growing every time I saw a still body, making me keep my eyes closed during the time of quiet.

"Sergeant!" Everyone's head whipped to the location of the voice, guns at ready. A couple marines waved us over.

"Boy are we glad to see you, we thought you were killed in the explosions."

"They can't get rid of me that easily private. They'll have to do better than that." The Sergeant said, smirking. The marines nodded and filled us in.

"The rest of the evac pods are up ahead, less than ten minutes away while walking. Others are holding the Covenant off but they won't hold out for long." One of them finished and we moved out at a brisk pace, shooting any alien that moved. More marines came into view, along with more Covies. By now the guy was completely dragging me along; my legs had given out long before. They were bleeding, being dragged across a metal floor with sharp and harmful debris does that to ya, but escaping was far more important.

"Are there anymore survivors?" The Sergeant yelled over the gunfire.

"No sir, you're the last ones!" Someone shouted back.

The Sergeant nodded and began firing. "Fall back! Get to the pods! We'll hold them off." He yelled, staying behind along with a few more experienced marines. We all started to fall back; Jacob came and helped drag me along into a nearby escape pod. They sat me down on the floor by the door, and strapped me in with the straps that were used to help wounded people (who couldn't be lifted up) like me stay in one spot. Jacob took the driver's while the guy who helped me last called shotgun, others filled the back, this being the last escape pod as another one flew out and got blasted away.

I gulped.

Finally, the rest of the marines piled in, bullets still flying and the Sergeant yelled "Go Go Go!" someone must've spotted something and shouted just as Jacob pressed the doors button.

"Wait! Someone's still out there!" they jumped up and held the door open, a terrified marine soon flew into the pod, landing on the floor with a clunk, and a giant green metal figure walked in. An almost robotic voice came from the being.

"Go."

Jacob complied and the doors closed as the pod came to life and the engines online.

"Thrusters at the ready, 5 seconds," Jacob reported and I slipped down to the floor, against the sealed doors as I felt the plasma bullets try to penetrate the metal from the other side. The marines strapped themselves in quickly while the big green giant just held onto a bar on the side of the near me.

A marine looked up at the big green metal giant, and fearfully asked, "We're gonna make it, aren't we, sir? I don't wanna die out here!" Tin man patted him on the shoulder before returning to his spot near the door.

For some reason, this seemed like a major déjà vu moment, and I have no idea why.

Suddenly, I was pushed up against the wall just as I allowed my body to relax. Not a moment too soon, if I kept my neck tense, the force would've snapped it like a twig. The moment the force eased up was the moment all my wounds came and bitch slapped me in the face.

I clenched my jaw as pain shot through every inch of my body, my chest heaving from the effort to just breathe. I tried staying as still as possible, but it hurt too much not to move. I closed my eyes and forced my body to look relaxed, though I cringed in agony. My breathing slowly and painfully leveled out so my chest ended up with a nice rise and fall motion. My eyes snapped open when I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder, though it felt like thousands of needles were piercing it.

I looked up; muscles tensing and screaming at me to get the hand the sam hell off my shoulder. I relaxed when I saw it was Jacob, though still inwardly winced when he gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze.

"Hey, we'll be alright. We're heading towards the nearest station that's clear of those Covenant scum. We'll avenge everyone who was lost in this battle."

I gave him a look, "One: I didn't even know anyone there besides you and the guy who helped me-" I looked over at the guy now. "-whom I still don't know his name." I raised an eyebrow and gave him a look while he smirked. "Two: you lied." He looked at me, confused. I gave him an eye-roll. "Half a click, yeah fucking right. That was the longest half click I've ever experienced." He smiled weakly and gave me a chuckle. "And lastly: you're-" Before I could finish, his hand immediately let go of my shoulder and he looked down at it in horror. I blinked, my turn to be confused.

"Get me the medical bag- NOW!" While someone was looking for it, I took the time to look at his hand. Then I looked at my shoulder and down. "Oh…. So that's why the room is spinni-" I blacked out. Blood pooled around me.

**A/N: Is it just Jay or is anyone else getting annoyed that she keeps passing out? She'll show this annoyance next chapter, since i've already wrote it. I don't know if i want to stay a chapter ahead of the chapters i've already posted, or if i should just post it and post a chapter after i write it. *shrug* ah well, review please! =D**


	5. Cloud hanging over

**A/N: Hey guys, Biocide again. I meant to post this on Sunday, but i got lazy and didnt finish editing it. Then yesterday, i found some places that needed improvement. So i looked at it today, and said screw it :)**

**Thank you 5islovesaidkittifreak and BlueBassist for reviewing :3**

**BlueBassist, i'll work on getting the timeline better to understand; in my mind the story makes sense and those random time changes are like a scene change for me xD hopefully this chapter is better to follow... if not, i'll keep on trying. :)**

**Disclaimer: If I owned anything of Halo besides my oc's, i would think that my oc's would be in there... for at least a moment.**

**Enjoy and r&r please! ^^****  
**

I awoke with a groan. The heels of my palms rubbed my eyes, then my fingers massaged my temples.

"Hey, you okay there Jay?" I cringed.

"Yeah, just great. I'm the only one that keeps on blacking out, getting the shit beat outta me, and having my head feel like it just took a beating from a pack of brutes. Just fucking great." I growled, sitting up with difficulty. Discovering a bottle of painkillers on the side table, I snatch it and shake out two pills, popping them into my mouth; ignoring the offered glass of water. I swung my legs over the side of the bed, stopping when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"You should rest; you can't work with those injuries." Jacob said.

"Yeah, and staying in the smelly medical bed is anymore helpful." Without another thought, I pushed myself to my feet, grabbing the nightstand to help steady my body. "I'm fine" I said before Jacob could tell me to get back down.

He sighed. "Fine, but don't come whining to me when the medics get on your ass." I was already stumbling to the door.

"Like they will live long enough to do that."

Pausing at the door, I looked back. "How long have I been out?"

"Hmm... two days." He replied, and I nodded. The door slid open and I pushed the shocked nurse aside.

"Ma'am, you're not-

"Save it," I growled. "I'm not staying here, I've already been here long enough, I ain't gonna be stuck in this hell hole any longer. If I need to rest, I'll go to the b's." I told her over my shoulder, exiting the room and into the short hallway. I groaned, my thumb and pointer finger pinching the bridge of my nose; pleading for the drugs to kick in. Jacob apologized to the nurse then caught up to me.

"You didn't have to be so rude to her."

"She and the rest of these shitheads are the same, so I'll treat them the same." I let my hand fall, giving up hope for my headache to subside anytime soon.

He sighed, "Then mom is one of these 'shitheads'?"

He watched as I froze. I was silent for a few moments, before I began walking at a faster pace. "That's different. She's the only one who doesn't act like her patients are babies." I didn't see, but I knew he was smiling, yet he said nothing more.

_Dear mom and dad,_

_Everything is well, although the Covenant just attacked the ship we were on. Don't worry, Jacob and I escaped just in time; safe and sound._

I glanced down at my slow healing wounds- most of them had reopened when we were fighting- and grimaced.

_We are currently on the UNSC ship, _Road to Victory_, and we've met up with some of our friends while making more. They are well too- we are comfortable around them and I happily make a fool out of myself like I used to with you guys._

"Ahh… I'm stuffed!" I cried out with a smile.

"Congrats." An eye roll follows the comment.

"Hey," I turn to the one diagonally across from me, "You'd be happy to be full after an attack on your ship too, Kyle. It feels like it's been ages since the last time I ate!" I replied, my smile beaming. Jacob laughs from across the table.

"That's because you kept on fainting before we could get a spoonful of mush into you!"

I grimaced, "if that ever is attempted again, the guy feeding me will no longer be able to reproduce."

"And if it's a woman?" George asked, sitting next to me.

"Then their kid won't be able to reproduce."

"Is that really fair?"

"Of course; 'oh hi kid, look at what your mom has brought to you- now you won't be able to make babies and it's all your mom's fault!' Yup, that'll kill the mom for sure. The only thing worse than not being able to have a kid, is having the kid mad at them completely." I said, using exaggerated hand motions before finally nodding in my own approval.

"What if they don't have a kid?"

I turn to the person on the other side of me, Matt. "Oh, they will. You can count on it." The table was silent for a few moments before people started to laugh.

"You, Jay, are one weird kid." Kyle said, laughter quieting down.

"Don't call me a kid damn it!"

He laughed.

_How are you two doing? Any news for us? Is everything okay on Harmony? From what I've heard, the aliens still haven't come close to your galaxy, which is a huge relief. If anything would happen to you guys it'd kill both me and Jacob._

_On my last mission before we had to pull out, I met an elite. Face to face too. It was terrifying yet thrilling as well. You can't imagine how much I've wanted to see one up close and alive. They're amazing creatures; I have no idea why we are fighting them when we're so much alik-_

I paused, then erased that paragraph. Parents never do tend to like the things that are trying to kill your children, much less your entire race.

_The military is cool; I get to handle a lot of guns and stuff, just like I wanted. I can easily beat someone up- that's reassuring isn't it? Haha, remember when I used to pin Jacob down whenever he got on my nerves? I can do way more things now, but you probably don't want to hear about what I can do. Just know that Jacob and I can take care of ourselves if necessary and that we miss you. The military has its perks, but nothing compares to home!_

I sighed, remembering that hell hole.

_Well, I got to go, I have to go check in and see what my schedule will be for my temporary stay on this ship. I'll write to you again soon, Jacob says hi. We miss you both terribly; we hope to see you soon._

_Love you lots,_

_Jay_

I put down the pen and held my head in my hands. Long moments passed before I sighed; even the breath of air being let out sounded strained. I stared at the letter for a long time before folding it and sealing it into an envelope. I hesitated with the envelope in my hands, then gave up, stood up, and exited the room. Walking down the hall a bit, I proceeded to shove the letter into the mail slot.

Stepping out of the room, I made my way to the cafeteria. Taking the long way around, I passed the office and picked up my schedule. Even though we'll probably be posted on a new ship soon, it's better than being bored out of my mind for the rest of my stay here. Staying clear of the infirm, I made it to the mess. Unlike other doors, this one swung shut behind me.

_Hah, reminds me of the kitchen. I could probably time it just right, open the door and…_

My train of thought was interrupted when I saw someone wave me over to a table. Forgetting my moment worth distraction, I made my way over and promptly jumped into a chair, ending up in a slumped back messy position; legs apart, and arm over the back of the chair, and my neck tilted with a lazy grin.

"Yo dudes; sup?"

Jacob shook his head, returning to his sandwich. The others either smile and shake their heads, or ignore me completely. I don't mind, I know they don't mean anything by it. I try to swipe a strawberry from my brother's tray, but my hand instantly recoils. Shaking it, I glare at my hand's attacker.

"Get your own." Jacob smirked, his hat hiding his eyes. I rolled my eyes with a smirk, then stood to get some food.

Coming back to the table with some Chinese food; my favorite beef lo mien, I sit and snap apart my chopsticks, then, gleefully, shoveling it into my mouth.

"Disgusting."

I glance to my left at the passerby, Abby, and smirk. "Then why are you in the military if you don't want to get dirty, _princess?"_ I replied.

She scoffs before continuing on her way. I glare at her back before resuming to wolf down my grub. Pausing with a half full mouth, I glare down at my tray. "I thripping hafe fer."

"Jay, no talking with your mouth full." Jacob smirked, jerking his fork in my direction. I replied with a snap of my chopsticks and a friendly glare.

"Yeah, I don't know why prisses like her even joined this gut retching, gory war anyways." Matt said, looking at her a few tables away in disgust.

"Yeah but you've got to admit, they do bring some entertainment." George grinned, but was replied with a smack on the back of his head. "Ow!"

"Yeah, some _entertainment _you've got there. Ya sick fuck." Sonia said with her Hispanic accent, giving him a half hearted glare. He just grinned again.

"Anyone up to sparring later?" I asked, a challenging look in my eyes as I leaned over the table and looked at everyone.

"You are so on!" Kyle spoke up, pasta sauce flying. I wiped some of it from my arm with a mock look of disgust, then grabbed Jacob's hat and put it on my own head. Before he could complain, a voice called out.

"Mail's here!" We turn to see Andy with a messenger bag, him being given the unofficial job of being the mailman. He tosses small rubber band held stacks to the addressed people or has people pass them down to the rightful owners.

Kyle and the others caught their bundles when it was their turns, and started opening them. I sunk down in my chair more and brought the hat's rim down so it shadowed half of my face, but the frown was obvious. With a thud, a letter landed on my tray, making me glance up unhappily. Jacob gave me an encouraging glance before he began opening his own letters from our parents, friends, and a few from his girlfriend.

Trust me, when I found out he had gotten one, I had to ask him why, when, and just _how._

I sighed and reluctantly picked my lone letter up. Tearing the envelope open, the letter fell out onto my lap. Raising an eyebrow, I picked it up, catching the second piece of paper that was folded inside of the first. Looking at the first one, I recognized my mom's work before I read the first word. Yeah, the bright yellow and pink flowery stationary was a hint. Damn it hurts to even look at it.

_Hello honey,_

_Got your letter; how are you? Your father fell off the ladder, again, while cutting a dead branch off; broke his leg but he's alright. I'm fine, busy with the scrap book club and taking care of your father. You should really send us a picture or two sometime though; I want to make a scrapbook for you! Then we can show your boyfriend it!_

I took a momentary glance at my covered shoulder and the left side of my chest with a smirk. She'd freak if she found out I went through with _it._

_Have you gotten a boyfriend yet? You really should, I want grandchildren!_

I rolled my eyes, I'm only just an adult and she wants me to be a mom already. Typical mother.

_How has life been going since you sent me the last letter? I wish both of you are safe and sound, no injuries I hope._

I look down at my body and grin like I spited her.

_How has your talent at cooking been doing? I bet you're volunteering to be a cook on the ship all the time! Make your infamous cookies for your bo!_

I groaned. The only reason I found that talent was because mom forced me to go into a cooking class. "It'll help find you a man!" she kept telling me.

_Well, that's all the news for now, send a letter soon!_

_Lots of Love from Harmony,_

_Mom_

I rolled my eyes, tossing the letter carelessly on my tray before grabbing the second piece of paper. Brightening visibly at the address, I eagerly tear into it.

_Hey Jay_

_How are you? How's military life going for you? Hah, it's been so long since I've seen you! Hopefully you remember your ol' friend Ty now, huh?_

… _Ok that's all the sentences that begin with an H for now. Heh heh. But seriously, WRITE MORE! I'm lonely._

I smirk at the mini picture of a pouting puppy scribbled under the sentence.

_Pfft, anyways. I'm doing good; being a mechanic is awesome by the way. I get to work with tanks! TANKS! The thing you blow shit up with! It's super cool, dude; a dream job. And guess what? I get to test each one I work on! Yeah it might backfire on me, but it hasn't happened yet so OH WELL! Haha- I miss you._

A sad stick figure is by the last word, making me smile.

_Met some other mechanic friends here on Xyhen II_- _who comes up with these names anyways? Did we just copy the aliens or what? Anyways, I get a kick out of them, last week we played a prank on the lab rats-_

I rolled my eyes at Ty's nickname he gave the scientists.

_-Yeah… they were pretty ticked about their lab being on fire and… syrup coming out of the fire alarm sprinklers… Hey- it wasn't that big of a fire! It only… covered _half _their lab in soot… and they have to replace a bit of equiptment…. And clean the syrup up with pancakes- but they should THANK us for _that! _Well… except for the guy who's deathly allergic to syrup… starting to regret the prank- STOP THINKING!_

_Uh, yeah… Videotaped the whole thing, I'll show you it if it isn't confiscated by the time we next see each other._

_Hey, killed any aliens yet? I bet its so cool seeing them in real life! I don't know about you- well, I do, but… yeah- but I'm going to be the first human who's friends with an alien! That will surely get my name in the papers, wouldn't it? What types of guns do you normally work with? I bet you'd make a great soldier with a shotgun. Remember when we always used to pretend to be in battle, and you would act like you had a shotgun? I remember when you actually fired one for the first time. WOW that was hilarious!_

I manage to hide a laugh as the memory played in my mind. Never again will I forget about the recoil on that thing.

_Xyhen II is good… no aliens yet sadly. ;P_

_UGH sometimes it's just so boring here… on days off anyways. You know me, sitting on the couch and watching cartoons. I don't care how many times people say that cartoons are for kids- you learn from them! How else would we learn that a frying pan would hurt if you're smacked by it? Not me! :P_

_Well… nothing else to report…. Have any battle wounds yet? :D_

_Have you been promoted yet? They must've by now! If they haven't, I'll come over there and beat the shit out've them until they do!_

_That's all I have to say for now…_

_DON'T DIE_

_Ty_

I shake my head with a smirk before stashing the letter in my pocket.

Returning to my now cold noodles, I think. So many things has happened….

My train of thought was interrupted by a sharp prod to my right shoulder. "Hey, what the-"

I stop, look around, and mouth a soundless "oh…"

Putting away my tray, the janitor returns to his business as I exit the marine-empty mess hall. _Must've spaced out longer than I thought_…

I sighed, making my way to the training room. Upon entering, I sighed again. Empty; must've spaced out longer than I thought. Walking back to my room, I stopped off at Jacob's. I knocked on his door, my earlier thoughts still hanging over my head like a dark cloud. _I could have… so many times…._

"Jay?" A hand waved in front of my face, catching my attention.

"Huh, what?" Looking up at him, seeing a concerned face.

"That's what I want to know. Where've you been? Kyle kept gloating that you chickened out because he was too macho for you to beat." His soft chuckling died when he noticed the look on my face. "Jay, what's wrong?"

I sighed, shaking my head. "I don't know."

He beckoned me into his room and sat me on his bed, taking his desk chair for himself. Moments passed before he turned slightly to work on a few reports, giving me some time to collect my thoughts and process them into words. Minutes flew by and I sighed again, catching his attention.

"It just feels like… like everything has happened so fast…"

"Well, it kind of has." He shrugged and I nodded, eyes glued to the floor.

"Yeah, but…. It… it just hit me… I… we could've… so many times…. I… it…." My eyes pricked with tears and I gulped, closing my eyes; stubbornly holding back the tears.

He put his hand on my right shoulder, making me look up into his comforting gaze. "We survived, remember that. We're here now, that's what's important."

I nodded, eyes returning to the floor.


	6. Brainfreeze

**A/N: Hey guys, another update- whoo~**

**Ok, just want to make some things clear (thanks to my three reviewers ^^); now the timeline transiton things will be more clear, with - 's, and Ty is not Jay's boyfriend. Ty is Jay's goofy childhood friend who went through basic with her and Jacob and became a mechanic. They hadnt had any contact since graduation from boot camp so...yeah. that's pretty much it. Jay's mom is the kind of person who wants her kids to have the perfect boy/girl friend, get married, have kids, and BLAH with everything else. Uh... i think that's it... unless if i'm forgetting something i'm sorry (i have a bad memory sometimes) anyways, enjoy!**

**EDIT: ok, sorry. Just came back from my grandparents' house and noticed that the -'s dont really work. i'll do... *'s then... blah. if you guys have a better idea, share it; it wont be ignored**

**ANOTHER EDIT: ok, the *'s dont work either. WTF /*pissed*/**

**AHJKHAJKSHJAHSJKAHJSKH**

Throwing my arms over the table, I audibly sighed. "UUUGH!" ok, pretty much yelled.

"Ow, trying to burst my eardrum or something?" A pinkie went into his ear as he winced.

"But it's so _boooooriiiing!_" I complained, looking up at Kyle with a sad face. Despite picking up my schedule earlier this week, it hadn't helped with my boredom. Really, all that's on the cruddy piece of paper was train, eat, and sleep. Not. Helpful.

A few days have passed since that night in Jacob's room. They've been long, _agonizing_ days; since I've done everything moderately time consuming on the first two days here. We haven't talked about what had happened on the last ship or anything before that, instead we've been doing our separate things… mostly training, but we still hang out whenever we see each other. Anyways, the rest of the days have been bad. One thing I cannot stand is boredom, and sadly, I get bored easily.

"Then do something about it." He sipped from a juice box, purposely making that annoying slurping noise. I didn't notice that part, my mind getting distracted again. _Ah, nothing beats juice in a box. _I thought with a pleased grin.

A hand obscured my vision, causing me to glare up at the person. "If you want something to do, there's always work to be done."

"Matt, I don't _want _to do paper work! The time I spend here is supposed to be a mini vacation _at _my workplace. I defiantly don't wanna _work!"_

"Then quit complaining and relax!" He argued, brushing his short brown hair from his eyes.

"But that's boring too!"

He sighed, then went to different matters, leaving me to sulk, half laid out on the table.

When a thunk was heard a few moments later, I opened an eye, and immediately perked up. "Score!" Snatching the offered spoon, I took a large chunk out of the new container. Shoving it into my mouth with no dignity, I sighed after swallowing. "How did you get this? I thought they had these things on lock down!"

"I know somebody," Jacob said with a shrug.

"Well whoever that somebody is, I want to marry them." I commented before taking another shovel of mint chocolate chip ice cream into my mouth.

"Sorry, but I don't swing that way." Sonia smirked, sitting down in a chair while taking a smaller spoonful herself.

I grinned. "Hey, you never know, I might just turn ya." I teased with a wink.

She rolled her eyes and took another scoop. Jacob sat there with his spoon in his mouth, shaking his head with a smile.

Kyle abruptly grabbed a scoop of the chilling dairy product and shoving it into his mouth, ignoring the spoon sitting an inch away from his other hand.

"Ew, gross! Kyle, we don't even know where that's _been!"_ Sonia cried.

"Neither do I!" He laughed, licking his fingers, while Sonia gave him a disgusted look.

I took a bigger scoop and ate it.

"Don't eat it too fast Jay."

"Thanks, _mom, _I'll keep that in mind." Taking a big bite just to spite him.

"Fine, but don't come crying to-" A whine interrupted his sentence and he laughed. My face was pale and I was too busy clutching my head in my hands to hit him for jinxing me.

"Told ya!" He laughed, taking a decent sized spoonful of the delicacy.

I glared at him before mentally pleading for my head to unfreeze.

A loud, _irritating_, voice sounded, each word sent pound after pound of pain into my skull.

"Jacob Sulley, report to the-"

"SHUT UP ALREADY!" I screamed, not even listening to the words.

"conference room immediately."

"UGGGH!"

Jacob rolled his eyes and socked me in the arm. "Shut up, the announcement wasn't even for you."

"There was an announcement?" I blinked, stupidly. He groaned before getting up and leaving the mess hall. Shrugging, I took another spoonful but winced when my brain-freeze had a buddy come over.

****

_I couldn't breathe._

_Please, no- not again!_

_Pain vibrated through my very core, rattling my bones as voices were heard everywhere; always muffled, always out of reach. My mouth opened to let out a wail, but nothing came out. My chest tightened, threatening to burst. The darkness had me in its cold grip, loving how I fought it fruitlessly. Wave after wave of agony and pain racked my body, making my jaw hurt from how far its stretching. It felt like hours before I gave up, and was held in death's hands helplessly._

_This is what it's like to die. This is how I had died._

I shot upright in the bed, sweat beading on my forehead. I shivered and rubbed at my goosebump covered arms, desperately trying to shake off the cold that covered my being like a cruel blanket. Mere moments later, I was slouched in my sitting position, arms being held as I hung my head.

Again and again I have this dream. Every night since that day. The day I died, and the day I learned how to live. And each dream brings its stress, how helpless I am in death's cold grip; each time I end up fighting, each time I end up losing. I hit the bed with closed fits, biting my trembling lip.

A chocked sob escaped my lips as tears threatened to spill.

Why, why, _why?_ I already know what it's like to die, why should I be haunted of it in my dreams as well as in my mind and memories? Whatever god is up there; likes watching me suffer.

Tears won the silent battle and streamed down my face, soaking the blanket clenched in my hands. My chest really did feel like bursting, but this time it was because of a different internal struggle. I didn't dare open my mouth, fearing that the scream behind my lips would come out before I could stop it.

I wanted to scream, so badly. A person could only take so much without having to scream. I had handled about a month of this, and I was ready to lose my sanity.

_Whoever came up with dying was "peaceful and painless", _I thought grimly, _deserves a good kick in the nuts._

**A/N: Ugh, short chapter; barely a 1,000 words. I'm so sorry you guys, but i've gone through all i had and i need some time to think of what can happen. If anyone has any ideas for me, even crazy ones might help, please share them!**

**If my writer's block doesnt go away by Friday, you wont be getting another update for at least 10 days. I'm going to my grandparents' house and spending time with my 1st and 2nd cousin. Maybe then it'll give me some inspiration... eh, or maybe not. *shrug***


	7. Boredom and sickening surprizes

**A/N: AHHHH! –runs around in circles- I'VE FINALLY GOT SOME IDEAS! Bwaaah… I'm so sorry that this chapter took so long, and I'm so sorry that it's so short! Shortest. Chapter. Ever. I **_**PROMISE**_** the next one will be longer and that it'll be sooner than this one! Bwahh… thank you my readers (probably very few of you though) for waiting! Here ya go! ^^**

"UUUGH! I'M SO _**BORED!"**_

"Haven't we already gone through this?" Kyle asked Matt, who sighs and shakes his head.

"But that was _yesterday!_ Surely we would've thought of something else to _do_ in that amount of time!" I said exasperatedly.

"Have _you_ thought of anything?" Sonia countered, tired of my complaining.

I paused and looked away sheepishly. "Well…."

"See? Not even the bored one could come up with anything." She said, before returning to her book.

A moment of silence before- "I'm _bored!"_

"Ugh, _Jay!"_

"Fine fine, keep your pants on." I scooted away from the table with a huff. "I'll go look for something to do since none of _you _are helping." Without waiting for an answer, I made my way out of the mess hall, leaving the doors swinging behind me.

My feet took me towards the labs, making me pause at one of the windows to watch the scientists work. Scribble something here; draw a diagram there, yatta yatta.

Something in the window made me pause in m steps. I backed up, turning towards it, holding in a gasp. On the table, two rooms over, was an elite. Scientists walked around it, taking notes while one particular scientist took a syringe and stuck it into the alien's neck. I flinched, even though it was faint, I could hear the drugged elite scream in agony. The scientists, and everyone around, paid no attention to the cry.

I covered my gaping mouth, as wide eyes watched as alien eyes looked around as the same scientist wrote things on his clipboard before filling up another syringe. Time seemed to slow when its eyes landed on me. Pain, confusion, and depression filled its usual triumphant orbs, before they closed as it let out another blood curdling scream.

"Amazing, isn't it?" It looked like I jumped at the voice, but it helped me to hide the flinch. I glanced over, to see the head of the science department by the looks of it. He caught my glance and smiled more.

"Oh I'm sorry, miss. Didn't mean to startle you, I was just observing with you on our test subject. We managed to capture this wounded elite when we picked some marines up from the old UNSC space shuttle. Somehow the two marines didn't notice that it, wounded, snuck onboard their escape pod until they got plasma through their heads. We found it almost bleeding to death and saved it." He said, pretty proud.

_Oh, and saving then torturing-oh I mean _experimenting,_ on it is better than letting it die with dignity?_

He took my moment of silence, watching the alien weakly struggle against its binds on the table, as the moment to introduce himself.

"My name is Charles Irwan. It's a pleasure to meet you miss…?" He held out his hand while trailing off.

"Sulley. Private Jay Sulley." I ignored his hand, I was watching the elite in the observatory, but he thought I just didn't see it.

"A military gal, eh? I don't see how you can stand seeing those scum every day, killing your comrades in cold blood, risking your life for this stupid war.

He clasped his hands behind his back and turned towards the window, not seeing my more-than-irritated look.

I broke the -awkward for me, comfortable for him- silence, hiding my worry of the answer with fake intrigue. His grin grew before he answered.

"We're seeing his limits. We're in the process of injecting every harmful bacteria and virus known to man, in hopes that it leads us to a way to invent a solution to our… covenant friends."

I gaped at him, him not seeing my expression because he has his eyes closed in self pride.

_That's… that's genocide!_

He took my silence well because he continued.

"In perhaps _days,_ this war will finally have a solution. Instead of wasting our time on putting all our hope in some old _Spartan_, we can win this war sooner because of _my_ genius plan." He checked his watch, missing my enraged look. "Oh look at the time, I've got a meeting to get to. Hopefully I'll see you again miss Sulley."

"Yeah, a real pleasure." I said distastefully as I crossed my arms and looked the other way. When he walked away, whistling, that's when I glared daggers at his retreating back. I turned back to the window arms still crossed.

_Creep._

My gaze softened when it landed on the alien again. I got to thinking, I thought about the war, the reason why I joined the Marine Corps; why I'm still even here. Then they traveled to Zeuk, and my heart clenched in my chest. What if it was _him_ on that table? What if they were doing this to him _right now_ on another ship?

I shook my head, shutting my eyes forcefully.

_Why am I thinking about him? He's the enemy, not my friend… no matter if I saved him again or if he saved me, we could never be ally's in this damned war… and yet…_

I looked back up, only to meet the elite's gaze. I leaned forward again, putting my hand on the glass. When he closed his eyes, I made up my mind. I know why I joined the military.

**Ok, so maybe it wasnt the best, but the science ideas were written just today and the first half was when i tried writing this chapter with the writer's block. I am so glad I'm currently not a author in career standards right now 'cause i'd need a lot of time to write a book. xD**

**uuuhh... i know i'm asking for a lot... ok some things... so i wont ask for reviews from new people... only if you want to guys... but the thing i want to ask is if anyone reading this story has been, is, or knows somebody in the military. If you know anything about what it's like in any branch, please message me. Yes, i have, and still am, reading from books and doing research on every branch, but i want an inside opinion about the military life. thanks, publish soon! ^^**

**PS. i'm writing a TMNT story (same main oc, different back story) and i was wondering if there should be a pairing :P No, or yes and a name. I also have a poll on it, but it just says yes or no. I'll put a poll with names up on it when i get some votes. Comments/reviews work too! ^^ Thanks! :D**


	8. Search and Rescue

In the dead of night, when every head clouded with sweet slumber and dreams, one mind silently traveled the halls. With light feet and keeping to the shadows, the lone soul snuck through the space ship maintenance tunnels. A strange eyepiece covering one eye, no weapon visible, hands forcefully relaxed from the wanted tension.

I peered around the corner to the science wing, ears straining for any and all sounds. After a few paranoid minutes, I moved. I kept low, stayed absolutely silent, keeping to the shadows in the dim florescence light. My mind raced, the little annoying voice in my head yelling full-out in one ear as I managed to focus my attention on hearing with the other.

_WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?_

Let me say just one thing. _Ow…!_

After what felt like hours; I finally made it to the same observation room where the elite was. Again- _was._

I cursed under my breath, the annoying voice silent in triumph as I thought of where someone _that big_ could be held. Then it hit me and I couldn't help but smack my forehead with a hand. I flung my arms out, palms up, in exasperation.

_Stupid!_

After another 20 minutes, I was sneaking around the corner of the indestructible holding cells. Conveniently, it was right next to the science wing. Why? So the scientists could get their rare test subjects to the lab quickly with less chance of them escaping; even when they're drugged. I looked down the short hall, one side filled with empty cells while the other side had bulletin boards packed with pieces of useless information. My eyes drifted to the only cell occupied, a… _'slight'_ chubby guard sleeping across the room in a chair with his feet on the desk in front of him. I quickly checked for any cameras, seeing one before each cell but not towards me. I slid my back to the wall, pressing my body full flushed to it as I quietly crept towards the end of the hall. Reaching the edge of the shadows by the wall, thanks to the lamp on the desk, I took out my old camera, stepped up into the potted plant next to me, and brought the ancient camera up next to the still security camera. Pressing the button, the flash didn't go off, being broken long ago after falling off the table back home. I brought the camera back down to me, taking the photo when it came out. Fanning it until the image was clear; I held it just away from the lens sighting, before quickly slipping it before the lens. Waiting for an alarm that's not going to sound, I hopped off the plant pot, putting the camera away and crouching. Smirking and standing straight, I pause, face paling.

"Um… Hi?" I waved a hand as I whispered. Black eyes just watched me, silent and still. I crouched again when I regained my courage, reaching over and grabbing the pass key laying on the edge of the desk, just waiting to be taken.

I sneaked over to the cell door, slipping the card key into the slot, and gently sliding the door open. I flinched when the door gave a groan that seemed to scream in the stillness. I turned to grab something, only to jump when a low, grave voice echoed in the darkness.

"What are you… doing… female?"

My head snapped back to the darkness, finding two glittering black eyes peering at me from the back of the room.

I didn't answer. Turning back to my pant leg, I kneeled to get something out of the pocket. An airy heave made me look right back up, watching as a giant form stood up, a four fingered hand pressing against the wall for support, only for it to slump back down on the small bed.

"Don't move." I ordered, slipping the item out of my pocket and cocking it.

Silence filled the air after the click sounded. I looked back up, only to see grave eyes staring at me.

"You're here to… finish me… aren't you?" My eyes widened in realization at how the situation looked to someone else. I stood up quickly, hardly surprising the great alien with my quick movements. I didn't realize that my gun was pointed straight at where his torso would be in the dark until that moment. I pushed it down with my other hand, shaking my head.

"No no… I'm here to help you get _out_ of here." I jerked my head towards the cell door. As I walked over, I saw that he was in chains. How he moved without making them clink, I have no idea. God they drug him with the strongest drug known to man _and_ are _still_ paranoid enough to restrain his movements? Damn they need a hobby… Before I got within five feet, he gently scooted away from me. I held up my hands, grip loose on the gun. He stared at me for a long moment; before I saw his eyes move up and down, telling me that he had nodded.

I shifted closer, slower this time until I was right next to him. I stuffed my free hand in my pocket, pocketing my gun in my back pocket before bringing forth what looked like a small strange metal object. I held it up, looking into the black orbs that somehow managed to shine in the darkness.

"Do you trust me?" I said softly, but completely serious.

"I don't see any other human trying to break me out of here."

"Huh, funny." I leaned back, hand on my hip as a smirk spread across my face. "I didn't know that elites _had_ any humor."

"You'd be surprised, female; we _Sangheili_ have a very good sense of humor."

I smiled before kneeling on my knee before him, holding out a hand. I felt something cold set in my hand. Flipping the cap off the metal object, it lit up the room with a flare. I brought the mini torch close to the metal clasp, holding it close but not too close as it began doing its magic.

After another ten minutes, the el- _Sangheili_ was sitting on his small bed, (more like a chair for him), rubbing his wrists and neck.

I held out my hand, standing up. After a moment, he hesitantly grabbed my hand before I helped him stand.

Holy _shit_ was he tall. I had to crank my neck back in order to see his head when he stood next to me. He could've used my _head_ as an _armrest_ if he wanted to. He had to be four feet taller than my 5'4" height.

I gently put his arm over my shoulders, feeling him immediately put some of his weight on me. I barely managed to keep from stumbling when he suddenly did that and straightened my spine, supporting his weight better. I rolled my eyes, shaking my head when I felt his body shake.

"Come on, I'm here to help so let me help." I almost regretted letting the words slip out of my mouth when he let go. When I say that he let go, _he let go._ I clenched my jaw when the weight intensified tenfold it felt like, letting out a grunt. As he hung his head, he answered my silent question.

"Adult male Sangheili usually weigh about 320 pounds in human standards."

I nodded before getting my gun out, putting my other hand on his wrist, only to have both of us recoil. Him moving his head away, his… -mandibles were they? - clenching with a click as my hand shot off his wrist the moment I touched it. I moved closer to his torso so I could twist my head to get a better look. I gently grabbed his hand, turning it over as I looked at his wrist in the dim light. The light shimmer caught my attention, alarms going off in my head.

"You struggled." It wasn't a question; the _raw_ evidence was right in front of my face.

"Yes. But _these_" he held up his other hand, it glittering the same way as the one in my hand. "Are from the burning restraints they put on me while in that… _torture_ room." I looked up at him.

"They put _what_ on you? Oh that Irwin creep is going to get it…" I glowered.

"Who?"

"You're his "project"; he's the one who practically _jumped_ at the chance to run dangerous tests on you, in attempts to find something to help exterminate your buddies." I glared at the ground, quietly snarling at the early memory of that creep and when I saw this elite through the window. When I snapped out of it, I saw him baring his teeth himself as his black eyes glowed in the dark. Just when he was about to unclench his mandibles, I interrupted him before he could talk.

"If you're going to say that you're going to kill him, get in line because there are a lot of people who hates that jackass's guts." I shrugged his arm over my shoulder more, my arm wrapping around his waist to help support him more. "Come on, we have to get moving before someone spots us."

Twenty-five minutes later, we were slowly making our way down the hall. I kept look out for any cameras and people, while the elite just worked on staying awake. During that time, it had been absolute silence. I decided to end the silence, since we were close enough to my courters so, if we had to, we could run to my door before anyone saw us. That is, if four jaws didn't pass out on me before then.

"How banged up are ya?" I asked; my voice unusually soft and quiet- solemn.

"Excuse me?" He couldn't move his head towards me, so he just used his eyes.

"I mean… how injured are you?" I corrected myself, my voice the same.

He didn't say anything. I took that as a bad sign.

"Think we could pick up the pace? We are only about five minutes away…"

"I…" His voice was weak, airy.

I shushed him, nodding as I fixing my grip on him after having it slip a little.

Silence laid like a blanket over us again as we walked, my socks silent (I left my shoes in my room, figuring the combat boots were too loud), as his hoofs made a quiet clink each time one hit the floor.

A door sliding open made us freeze. Slowly looking over our shoulders, we saw someone walking our way; and we were in plain sight.

**A/N: Ok, that wasn't very long either. But since I updated again today, the **_**next**_** chapter will be longer. I just thought that that was a good cliffhanger. Same end note as last time. THANKS~**


	9. Conversations updated edited

**A/N: Well... it's longer than the last one :D" But i'm updating a lot lately...sooo... yeah. I might post the first chapter of my TMNT story up here soon... within the next few days... dont worry though, this story is my main priority! I pretty much just write my TMNT story when i'm stuck on this one... but i've got some ideas for this one so i'm going to update this one more. Anyways- ENJOY! ^^**

**PS: Thanks so much for the reviews! X3**

**UPDATE: Sangheili's name is now Gro 'Amalok Special thanks to mckeown for coming up with the awesome name :)**

**EDIT: Thank you Prvt. Caboose for my mistake. Instead of arse, it's arsch. Thank you ^^**

We couldn't help but watch as the figure walked towards us; slowly, perhaps deadly to my new companion. I felt myself flinch before they came into the light, not wanting to see who it is, I snapped my eyes shut. A minute passed, no scream or shouts for help. I slowly peaked open an eye, and then relaxed. I turn to the tense alien beside me and motioned for him to stay back. We backed up against the wall when the figure came near, shadowed but I could never forget the human walking towards us.

The alien besides me was about to speak when I hurriedly shushed him. The human walked passed us, slowly, in a trance. I let go of his arm, letting him hang onto my shoulder more as I giggled softly behind my hand.

"That's Kyle," I said when I calmed down. "He acts all macho and yet…" I nodded at his feet as he walks passed. "I've never seen a macho man wear pink bunny slippers and toy airplane pajamas before. He's got to be the only person on this ship that sleep walks in the halls too." I fixed my grip on the alien before we got walking again, keeping a reasonable distance behind my "manly" friend.

"Does he… do this normally?" He wheezed.

"Every other night pretty much. Now save your strength, I don't want you passing out on me before we get to my room."

"Your room?" He looked at me out of the corner of his eye.

"Yeah, it's the only safe place for you right now. Unless if you want to hide in a storage room…" I shrugged and kept walking.

A moment later, we stopped at my door. Unlocking it with one hand and having it slide open, the door down the hall slid open right at that moment. Without thinking, I pushed the alien into my room to see the guy turn his head.

"Jay? Do you know what time it is? Why are you out of your room?"

I gave my brother a sheepish grin. "I thought I heard something, but it was only Kyle sleep walking again."

He nodded with a grunt. "Fine, just go to sleep." And with that, he disappeared into his own bedroom again.

Breathing a sigh of relief, the door opened and I was met with the sight of a glaring elite halfway standing up next to my dresser. I rushed over to him, door automatically locking again before I helped him up and over to my bed.

"Sorry." I muttered, helping him ease down into a sitting position on my bed before turning and digging through my footlocker at the end of the bed.

"Who… was that?" He wheezed.

"My brother, Jacob." I grabbed a box and turned on the light, regretting it when I saw his eyes change and pupils dialate, then him holding his forehead.

"Sorry." I apologized again and kneeled before the bedside, setting the box beside the alien and grabbed a water bottle off my nightstand. I whistled lowly.

"Shit… what have they done to you?" I asked myself, looking over the scarred abused reptile-like flesh. He didn't reply. I opened the water bottle and handed it to him before grabbing another one to soak the rag in my hand. He took it gratefully but sat there, wondering how he would drink it. I sighed, looked under my bed, and grabbed a wide rimmed bowl. It was clean, I mean- I'm not the cleanest person, but I've gotta keep crap clean for my own clean freak of a brother's sake.

I poured the water into there and offered it to the relieved alien. I took off my eyepiece and set it on top the footlocker.

"What is that?"

"It helps me to see in the dark." I said simply, he nodded.

As he drank, I took the wet washcloth and started with a leg. After looking at what was worse than the rest, I started to dab at the wound, wincing when the alien hissed under his breath. He didn't do anything else, so I continued.

This reminded me of Zeuk; my thoughts once again imagining what he could be doing right now, if he was in the same condition as this alien before me. Then I realized something.

"Hey… what's your name anyways? Mine's Jay Sulley." I glanced up at him with a small smile.

"Gro 'Amalok. Your human names are… so strange."

"Ha, right back at ya buddy. I probably couldn't pronounce your last name without some help. Amo... luck?"

"Ah-mah-lock" He corrected me with the smallest of smiles. How I know he's smiling? I'm guessing.

"'Amalok" I tried again, slowly. He nodded. "Cool." I turned back to my work, bandaging up his leg before going on to the next. I looked back up three minutes later when I felt him keep his eyes on me.

"Yes?" I look up at him, eyebrow raised.

"You don't seem… bothered."

"Eh? Oh! You mean that I haven't freaked out about ya?" He nodded after a moment of thinking of how I put his sentence.

"Yeah, well… I've ah… kinda… you know…" He stared at me, waiting patiently for me to finish giving my answer. "I've uh… done this… before."

"Helped a Sangheili?"

"Well, yeah." I said, resuming bandaging up his leg; this one less damaged than the other. I sat on the bed; he turned towards me, expecting me to tell more. I grabbed his arm and started to bathe the purple blood off of it, not caring if some gets on my bed. "There was this one Sangheili back on planet Helix IV when my squad and I were help guarding this facility when we got attacked out of nowhere; phantoms just started pouring in! I have no idea what they needed protecting there, but I didn't ask. After our last battle, when we were looking for a place to rest; but I wandered away from my squad and ended up getting lost. I wandered further into the dark halls, figuring that since I didn't just go straight into the halls, I'd just end up getting even more lost if I tried going back. Then, all of a sudden, I hear this whimpering. It was small and weak; I thought it was a child or something so I followed it. But then when I peaked around a corner, I couldn't believe my eyes! It was a Sangheili, much like yourself but a little shorter. He was lying half upright against the wall, a gash so deep you could see his entrails. So, creeping up on him, gun at the ready, I was so nervous I didn't think of just shooting him like so many other marines would do in that situation. As I got close, he noticed me and practically put a gun to my head after I pulled out my med kit. After a while, he let me patch him up and after that, we got on the whole "gun to head" deal again. He made me back up into the hall before voices started to call my name from the hall where I came from. When I turned back to the Sangheili, he was walking in the opposite direction. I yelled out my name in hopes that he'd understand, then he left after saying his name." He stared at me for another moment. I face-palmed. "I kinda rambled… didn't I?"

"No, that's fine… I'm just wondering what Sangheili in their right mind would trust a human so easily with something as dire as a life threatening wound?"

I stared at him for a minute, then deadpanned, "You trust me."

"…. Yes… well…" I laughed, then held a hand over my mouth to muffle it.

I started bandaging up the arm when he asked another question.

"What happened to your arm?" His voice was solemn, quiet.

I didn't have to look down at my arm to know what he was talking about.

"Same mission." I said, but had to continue after a minute of him staring expectedly at me. I sighed. "We finally managed to get out of the facility and tried making it towards the last pelican out -that's our drop ships by the way- when elites, brutes, all of you chased us across the beach. I managed to do a stupid thing and trip halfway there. Even though it saved me from a bad headshot, I managed to stay a good distance behind my squad, who was almost already at the pelican. Your comrades were gaining on me, when I was almost to the pelican, a plasma shot my shoulder." I unbandaged my left shoulder, revealing the still healing skin. "It burned through my bones, exposed my heart while taking a chunk out of a lung. The doctors had built me new bones using some kind of metal without my brother's permission. You see, they also saw me as an experiment. To see if an average human being could work with some metal reinforced bones. It works, but I don't tell them that." I shook my head, closing my eyes for a brief moment. "I don't want them doing this to others. Sure it helps me with my muscle training, and even my reflexes, but from time to time it hurts because it's a reminder." I stopped there, already saying too much.

"A reminder of what?" I've never heard of a Sangheili so interested in a human's history.

"I died that day. _Twice_ actually. It was painful coming back to the realm of the living, let me tell you. Next time I die, I want to _stay_ dead so I don't have to go through that again." I attempted to smirk, but it was half hearted. Silence hung over us after that. In that time I finished with his arms and was bandaging up his torso when he next spoke.

"Who was that Sangheili?" I glanced at him as I bandaged his back, him looking over his shoulder at me.

"His name was Zeuk. Why?"

"Zeuk…" He tested the name, turning forward again as he thought.

Ten minutes passed before he spoke again, this time I was washing his neck with the rag.

"Zeuk was under my command that day. After the last human aircraft departed, I finally noticed why he was lagging behind us on our way to our own ship. We got him to the medic bay, kept him there for a few days before he told us that a human managed to swipe a knife at him. After he killed the human, he stole their medical pack, saying he lost his supplies on the way in, and used what he could to save his life for the time being. Because we believed that after we got separated, his battle partner falling in battle, he fought off the rest of the human squad single handedly. Because of that, he was promoted to Special Ops, and now he is under my command still to this day. Or at least, he was. They probably believe I'm dead, or know I am now a prisoner on this accursed ship." He clenched a big hand, glowering. I put a hand on his shoulder, wounding the roll of gauze around his neck.

"Hey, hey. Don't worry, I'll get you back to your ship in no time and you can go back to commanding your squad."

"It is not that simple, human, I'd be tried as a heretic."

"Heretic? Why?" I paused in my movements again.

"Because, it is hard to believe that I would be able to escape a human ship without help and would most likely be believed that I had hidden myself like a coward."

I scoffed. "That's stupid."

"It is."

"It hasn't been too long since you've been captured… wait!" He looked at me as I beamed. "Your armor! You guys have transmitters in your armor, right?" He nodded. "I'll bet that it's still here and you can radio in for help!"

"That would be jeopardizing your own kind, human, it'd be suicide. But I agree. If they did find out I was taken as a live prisoner here, they'd send a ship to invade and retrieve me."

"Ah, there's a lot of assholes on this ship. And I'll bet they'd give you up just to save their own arsch."

"Arsch?"

"German for ass." I gave him a lazy smirk as I tied the ends of the bandages into a knot. I got off the bed and held his head in my hands as I looked over his head. I let go and got a band aid, sticking it onto the bridge of his… muzzle I want to say? He snorted and scrunched up his muzzle, getting used to the feeling of having something there.

He nodded as I stepped away and brushed off. "There ya go, all bandaged up. Now lie down and get some sleep."

"But-" He started to protest. Hell, already I am brushing off on him.

"No buts, your body needs to heal. Now sleep." I patted the pillow and he eased his body fully onto the bed.

"I'll get you some food in the morning, ok?" I said, laying the blanket onto his form. After a second, I put another blanket on him, seeing as the first was a little short. "I don't think it'd be good to eat anything but meat right now, and since I know for a fact that you guys eat meat, that's what you'll be getting. That okay with you?" I smirked. He gave me an alien smile. I petted his head before backing away. I spread a blanket on the floor and turned out the lights.

I yawned, using my arm as a pillow as I curled up into a ball. "Good night, Gro"

When my eyes closed, I was out almost instantly. I barely heard him speak.

"Good night… Jay."


	10. the enemy, ENEMY

**A/N: Hey guys, **_**finally**_** updated. I'm sorry it's been so long, and that this chapter is the shortest chapter in all my stories. I had writer's block (still do), and it's been hard over coming it. I know I said that this story would be my main priority, but the other two… what can I say? I've fallen in love with all three stories and I have a lot of ideas for the other two, but not this one. It'll probably be a week or two until next update… if more, I'll say so in Forgotten, alright? I'm so sorry this has taken so long with very little progress… I promise it'll come easier… I have a few tricks up my sleeve for overcoming the writer's block…**

**I just want to say thank you for my reviewers and readers, it's fun reading the reviews and I'm glad that so many people have read this story so far. Guess what? Over 1,000 views! Yeah, divide it by the chapters and you get how many people who have read it, but hey, that's still a lot to me. Thank you everyone! ^^**

**Enjoy!**

My head shot up, being stopped by a metal bar. I groaned, holding it in my hands as a red light flashed in my room. I heard hurried feet in the halls as I tried to figure out what hit me. I uncurled and sat up, wondering why I was on the floor. Did I have another dream? Recalling, I did remember breaking an elite out of the ship's prison and helping him to my room. Hell, my mind even made up a weird name for them: Sangheili, or something. Jeez, biggest fucking elite I've ever _seen_. What? 10 feet tall? Damn… did I drink a can last night? I got up and stretched, popping my back and neck with a moan. Floors are comfortable, but not to fall on. I chuckled, recalling the name I called the wounded elite. Gro Amalok. What kind of name is that? I opened my eyes and lazily looked around.

_Why's everything flashing red?_

Then my ears started working.

Holy _shit_ that thing was loud!

I covered my ears and stumbled over to my footlocker, completely missing the large shadow in the corner of my room. Still half asleep, I pulled my socks and shoes on before making my way to the door. It opened before I could press the button.

"Jay what are you doing? Come on, there's an emergency!" I wearily gazed up as I walked out of my room, the door closing behind me with a swish.

"Wha' teh proolem, offisher?" I never could speak normally after I wake up. Jacob rolled his eyes and grabbed my arm, pulling me along as we follow the other tired marines in the hall. We were ushered into the debriefing room and placed in cold folding chairs. It helped others wake up even more, but I was too busy trying to ignore the chill creeping up my spine and keep my head upright at the same time. I saw a higher ranked man walk onto a little stage there that they use for lectures and, well, to debrief teams of their next mission.

The man stared out at us, ignoring the tired eyes staring back and cleared his throat. I rolled my head, looking at the new room. It wasn't small, but it wasn't big either. I saw some weary marines having to stand on the sides and in back. I turned forwards when Jacob jabbed his elbow in my side. I muttered an 'ow' before looking up at the officer, his mouth moving but his words were muffled and mixed.

Giving up after what? Two, maybe three seconds? I focused my drunken attention on fidgeting with Jacob's shoulder. I patted it, ignoring the roll of his eyes when he glanced at me, before laying my head on it. It feels like I had only closed my eyes for a second before Jacob practically shoved me over to the next seat. Not paying attention to the look the soldier on my other side gave, I glared at Jacob before crossing my arms and leaning back in my chair. I was almost off to dreamland when I heard a certain word. I shot up straight in my chair and stared at the commanding officer as conversations started.

"Yes," He looked around the room with those hard eyes. Hey, he kinda looks familiar… "There is an elite loose on the ship. He somehow managed to escape the brig over an hour ago, and we have reasons to believe that he had some… _help."_ He held up a piece of paper. I gulped.

_Shit._

"This was found in front of the camera that showed the cell he was in. The person responsible of watching over the alien," His eyes flickered to a bowed head. "Wasn't doing his job. Now a monstrocity is loose on this ship. Now the elite has been… drugged… so the capture shall be easier on us. Either way, I want this ship searched thuroghly and if we find that one of you is hiding it, we will not _only_ strip you of your rank and status, throw you out of the military, but you will also be charged with helping the _enemy._ Do we understand each other?" A chorus of "Sir yes sir!" answered him. He nodded. "Dismissed."

Everyone started to stand and stretch, I was about to too, but something happened to make me sit back down and wide-eyed ahead. Everything hit me like a truck full of bricks.

Lab. Table. Injured. Last night. Cells. Blood. Pink Slippers. Comfortable. Treating wounds. Promise. The day on Helix VI.

_It wasn't a dream… I really do have an elite named Gro Amalok in my room… I helped an elite…. I helped the __**enemy.**_


	11. Letters and Trouble

**A/N: -whistles- wow this took a loooong time… I'm completely and utterly sorry that it's been… yikes, been nearly two months since my last update. After the last chapter I had gotten major writer's block for the first good month, then I slowly got over it and have been writing this whenever I could. Although, having bought Halo Reach two weeks ago didn't do anything to speed things up. That game is **_**awesome!**_** And I'm happy that my cousin and his friend play with me instead of me just playing by myself online and stuff, now I have people hear me talk while I play… okay, maybe that's not a good thing, but they talk as well so it equals out. Kinda. Maybe… No. Anyone want to play?**

**Kittifreak, are you still here? 've been wondering that for a while now.**

**Anyways, I'm completely sorry about the long wait, hopefully the next chapter will be done soon, and those of you waiting on Forgotten I'll have the next chapter posted tomorrow since my parents are about to kick me off right now.**

**mckeown, I'm even more sorry that I said that I would have posted this on Saturday or Sunday. That was completely my goal, it's about a week late, and I let you down. This chapter is dedicated to you for being an awesome fan and friend!**

**Enjoy!**

_Hey Jay!_

_Remember me? You better or else I'll kick your ass. No, I'm only kidding, I'll kick your ass while wearing my golf shoes! No, kidding again, you know I hate golfing._

_Why haven't you replied yet? D:_

_Are you dead? If so, you don't listen to orders very well. WRITE BACK DANG IT- this is my only entertainment :( ….. besides playing pranks on the techies._

_From your awesomest, most manly-ist friend,_

_Ty_

_PS: THEY STILL HAVEN'T CAUGHT ME! MUAHAHA!_

_PSS: Why do you insist on handwritten letters when we have so much technology now? You old school you._

_PSSS: What does PS mean anyways?_

_Dear Ty,_

_It's been a while, hasn't it? So much has happened… Honestly, by the time you finish reading this letter, you will not only be ecstatic, but you will be disappointed._

_First off, you will not be the first person to befriend an alien. And even if you did and get your name in papers, I can guarantee that it'll be you signing court marshal papers, not autographs. I have killed some aliens, killed more than I'd like, but you know me, even one is too many. Sometimes I wonder why I joined the marines if all we're going to do is try and defeat the Covenant, meaning kill them as well. But oh well, I still have almost three years left before I can get out. Hell, I'm glad I still have three years. Besides killing and being killed, the military is kick-ass fun._

_Oh, and I fight with a variety of guns. Usually battle rifles and magnums. My last mission I got to use a sniper rifle! I've officially adopted it. It is mine. It's name is Headshot. No one can have him. _No one!

_Okay, here's the reason why you won't be the first to befriend an alien. And you can _**NOT**_ tell __**anyone**__ about this. In fact, I want you to __**eat**__ this letter after you finish reading it. Understand? What I'm about to say, I can't even tell _Jacob_ or else he'd _**freak. **_Ok?_

_I…._

I paused, biting my lip. _Should I tell him? … No, Ty's my friend. The most trustworthy guy I know. He won't tell._ I put my pen to the paper again.

_I'm friends with an elite. _**Two** _elites actually. On Helix VI, I got lost and encountered a wounded elite- Sangheili I should say (that's what they say their species is called). I patched him up and we exchanged names, or at least I think we did at the time. Anyways, he said "Zeuk", which _is_ an actual Sangheili name, according to my other elite friend. His name is Gro 'Amalok and he is the commander of the Special Ops. The 'lab rats' were testing crap on him to see which would kill him. The bastards. I saw him and that night I broke into his cell and rescued him. An hour later, after we fell asleep, the alarm woke everyone up. Gro hid when all military personel huddled into the tiny briefing room where the guy from boot stared us down and reported that the elite broke out. We're keeping on the down low of course, and it'll be even harder to get his armor now. I'm planning on retrieving it so we can contact Gro's allies and they can attack the ship and get him. Crazy plan? Hell yeah. But it's the only way so he can get back to his allies and command his Special Operations team. Well, alive anyways. Zeuk is under his command now, and told me he was healing well before Gro got captured. We're planning on radioing his buddies soon, or else they'll start thinking he was a coward or a heretic for some reason. Stupid thing, I know. So yeah, the plan includes killing a few people, but this way we'll have inside knowledge, on both sides. Yeah, I can get into some deep shit if anyone finds out, which the old drill instructor clearly pointed out to us, and I'll probably be in prison for the rest of my life or sent on some suicide mission if found out._

_Anyways, sorry to disappoint you. ;P_

_Also, I do have some battle wounds. Yeah, that same day I met Zeuk? Same day I nearly fucking lost my left arm. What a memorable day, huh?_

_Plasma burned through my skin and bone, exposed my heart, ate half my lung, and the doc's replaced my lung and skin. Now my bones in my left shoulder are made of some sort of metal that they experimented on me, and now I can pitch and punch better with that arm. Don't make me angry, ha-ha. Only strange thing is that it gets cold at night. Hm._

_The scar's pretty cool though, I'll have to show you a picture some time. It goes up my neck a little and down to my elbow. It's sweet._

_Awesome prank by the way, I'll bet they'll remember you for years to come. You must show me the video. Pronto. Actually, I want you to start sending it now. Send it after reading (and eating) this letter. Got it?_

_Tanks? I knew you would find _some_ kind of occupation that involves destroying things. And lighting the lab on fire? I'm proud of you my little pyro. Haha. Oooh, I feel bad for that one scientist. Yikes, I hope he's alright. But another part of me wants to laugh at him. I mean, who's deathly allergic to _syrup?_ I mean, didn't they make a medication for that, like, two hundred years ago? Yeesh, _someone_ didn't take their medication that morning. Haha._

_Sounds like you're having a boring time, ha-ha. At least you're not dying nearly every mission you get. Which reminds me; I have to pick up my schedule. I hope I get kitchen duty, because then I can sneak some food to Gro without drawing attention to myself by only eating in my room all of a sudden. Yeah I know I've done it in the past, but not unless I was sick or something. I took my food to the room this morning, about an hour ago or something, and my friends were already asking questions. I said I was tired and was going to hit the hay again. I could do that after eating in the cafeteria. Doesn't make much sense to me but they bought it, for now at least. Other than meeting Gro and the missions and dying and living to tell it- oh yeah, that's right. I forgot to mention my death. And yes you missed the funeral, you bastard you. No, actually I did die on Helix VI, and some dude with blue hair gave me mouth to mouth. Yuck, I at least wanted to be _awake_ for my first kiss; nonetheless _alive._ Then they had to give me the shock treatment on the table. Ouch._

_Haha that was defiantly one of my most entertaining days I've had so far. Other than that day back in Boot Camp where someone tied the Drill Instructor's underwear to the flagpole and managed to stick sausage patties to the ceiling. The DI was so pissed when one of them fell on his head. Those extra pushups were so worth it. Even though it felt like my arms were going to fall off. And hey, one of them nearly has now. What a surprise. Eh, but its good now._

_I don't know what 'PS' stands for, but it's kind of fun to use._

_Sigh. Well besides all of that, it's getting kind of boring here. Yeah, there's always the chance that someone will suddenly burst through the door—_

[Writing's scribbled, like the pen was suddenly jerked from the page]

"God damn it."

"I apologize, let me get you-"

"No no, it's fine. I'm almost done anyways. Just give me a few minutes and we'll work on the game plan."

"Game? Is this a form of entertainment for you?"

"Whoa, calm down there big guy. No, it's nothing like that. Game plan is a term for… well I'm not really sure. It works for games and actual planning methods. Anyways, can I have a few minutes before we work on the plan?"

"Certainly."

"Thank you."

_Sorry about that, Gro accidentally knocked me when he was "sitting still". He's going to reopen his wounds if he keeps this up… he needs all the blood he has ya know? I don't think they produce blood faster than us, and if that's the case, he should still be suffering a little bit from blood loss. But I think that they produce blood faster, since he doesn't seem tired one bit._

_You know, our rooms on this ship aren't big enough for a seven foot tall Sangheili to move freely around in. Sure they can walk easily around, but not much else. He's starting to get antsy; it's only been a few hours since the meeting but I'm guessing Sangheili aren't used to staying in one place for a long time, or in small rooms for that matter. Maybe they're claustrophobic? Eh, I'll ask Gro about it later. Have any questions for him? I'm sure he wouldn't mind answering them… hey, ever wondered why humans didn't learn their language? They learned ours. Well, some of them did. But at least they made an effort. Only like… two in the entire human race have tried to learn their language. We fail miserably, ha-ha. I mean, we've learned languages of, I don't know, that are thousands of years old, yet we can't learn the language of a few aliens. What's up with that? Maybe it's because we don't have double jaws and can't make the same sounds. Eh, oh well. Maybe humans are just too lazy to learn one more language._

_Anyways, it feels like someone will suddenly burst through the door at any given moment, taking Gro away and sending me to prison. Or worse. They could experiment on Gro again! I can't let that happen! Oh no, I should have just put him in a shuttle last night before anyone noticed… but then someone would know that someone had helped him, an elite doesn't know their way around a human ship. There would only be a slim chance for one to actually _find_ the shuttles because the science and technical labs aren't anywhere near the escape shuttles. Which is weird because then the techies would be one of the last personnel's out. And wouldn't they want to try and save some of their research? Damn that would suck being a techie or a scientist. But then again, they do sometimes make stuff that explode… who in the world designs these ships? I mean, they probably had a grudge against scientists while designing this ship. The other ships I've been on had at least one escape pod in each sector, but this one doesn't have one near the science labs. Were they like "Oh, I hate that one scientist, he yelled at me last week. I know! Let's have _Road to Victory_ not have any escape pods near the science wings! That will teach him not to yell at me!" I mean, _come on._ A monkey with brain damage would have at least put one directly outside the science labs. Oh well. _

_Well, that's all I can say for now, Gro's getting even more restless (is that possible? Imagine a ten foot tall elite going nuts while being confined to a small room. Just think about it for a minute) so I have to go and work on the plan with him. Aren't elites supposed to be around 7 or 8 feet? Jeese, no _wonder_ he's such a high ranking guy. Anyways. We'll keep on the down low for now I'm sure, but you can never be too careful._

_Remember, eat this letter. Literally. Just stuff it into your mouth right now._

_Well, talk to you later, maybe Gro will let me take a picture of him so I can send it to you. You'll have to eat that too. Come on, I've seen you eat inedible stuff before, you can eat paper. :P_

_You probably left this letter after the first paragraph, you never did like reading did you? Amazing that you passed school. And college. And just are where you are today. Oh wait, or was that because you cheated off Jacob's papers? Eh oh well, I looked at them too._

_Friend? Yes. Awesomest? Perhaps. Manly? Nope._

_Talk to you soon unmanly friend,_

_Jay_

_PS: Eat it._ **Now.**

I leaned back and scanned the letter before folding it up and sealing it into an envelope, deciding to send it later. I turned around in my chair and smiled when I was met with the sight of Gro attempting to entertain himself. Right now he was staring at the wall. Honestly, his eyes were squinted on the pure surface, concentrating so hard like something would magically appear out of thin air. I covered my mouth with a giggle, causing his eyes to snap over to me. He quickly faced me, hiding the eagerness for something to do. I laughed and he tilted his head in momentary confusion.

"I do not understand, what is amusing you?" I giggled.

"Just… how you're acting." I caught myself in time. "I mean, I would have never thought that an elite- excuse me- a _Sangheili,_ would be able to express emotions."

"Of course we are capable of showing our emotions. All beings are able to."

"No, I meant positive emotions. Don't get me wrong, it's great seeing you like this, but coming from an average military human's point of view, the enemy only shows aggressiveness and anger towards you." I explained slowly, only for my sake of wording it the way I meant it. He immediately responded with a nod, not having to think about it twice.

"That is the same for us, but it seems that we are the more observant species in this case. We observe your emotions; see what can be a weakness and how to get passed your human defenses. I myself have observed countless of emotions from human civilians and humans of your military. Happiness, sadness, grief, anger… All sorts of emotions. I'm sure you have witnessed much more than anger and aggressiveness, but just haven't… looked close enough to see it. My kind tends to hide it more than yours, while your species tends to… express yourselves much more freely."

"Is it part of the whole honor deal?"

"In a way; yes. Our honor is the most important thing to a Sangheili; that, and status. If a Sangheili has a low status, they can make due as long as they know what honor is and have it. If a Sangheili has no honor… they have nothing." He looked away, avoiding my eyes. I caught on after a moment. I studied him for a moment, contemplating before I spoke slowly, as if not to upset him and only to get a simple answer.

"And you believe… because you got captured, that your honor has been damaged?" He sighed, closing his reptilian-like eyes.

"It is not just that, female. It is that I had been offered help; by a human. To the Covenant, every human is scum. The ones who are against the war, who believe that we should be allies, are put below everyone else and is treated like filth. If one would be offered help, by one of the Covenant's greatest enemies, nonetheless _took_ it," His fists clenched and unclenched in thought. "They would be traitors, and traitors have no honor." I felt myself getting frustrated. Not at him, but at the Covenant's society.

"Gro," I said after a moment, his eyes still avoiding me. "Gro 'Amalok, _look_ at me."

Great, now I'm acting like my mother.

He raised his head after a moment, unsure, but still didn't fully meet my gaze. I saw that this was as close as I would get. "You have fought many battles; I bandaged you up, I've seen the scars. Faded, old, recent and fresh, you have served the Covenant better than you're willing to give credit. Yet you are implying that you have no honor?" I studied him for a moment, watching his features. I still haven't figured out all of his emotions from his facial features, other than his rare smile and the faces from others in my own battles. His eyes were guarded, out of habit more likely, but from his posture I could tell he was thinking. I frowned when he looked away. "Gro? Is there something you're not telling me?"

I reached out to touch his arm but he turned away, letting my fingers barely brush his skin.

"Gro…"

"I don't want to talk about it." His tone was cold and distant; final. I frowned, letting my arm fall to my side. Something caught my eye and I sighed, reaching out to grab his arm. His arm automatically jerked out of my grip, but I grabbed it again and tugged it towards me, earning a grunt from him. I took off the bandage wrapped around his arm, my frown deepening.

"Your bouncing around reopened your wounds." As for how long I've known this creature, give or take six hours, I've already have grown attached. When he turned away, I felt… hurt. Not offended, but a helpless kind of hurt, where your help is denied. That's exactly what's going on.

"I apologize." I didn't say anything, just reached under my bed and brought out the med kit. I took off the used bandages and started wrapping his arm up with fresh ones. He decided to start. "When do you suppose we should act?" I offered him a smile, my concentration focused on my work.

"Well, it'd really help to have a plan first, don't ya think?" He chuckled in agreement. "We should hang low for a bit; when I was coming back from the meeting, I overheard a couple of marines talking about a Spartan on board." I paused, looking up at him with a smirk. "If that's the case, then this mission just got a whole lot more challenging."

"What is a "Spartan"?" I thought for a moment on how to word it. He couldn't know about their back story, and didn't someone say that they refer to them as some sort of monster?

"The Covenant calls them some kind of monster. They wear this high tech armor that enhances their abilities and they're the main reason the human race is still alive."

"Demon." I looked up, surprised at the growl rising in his throat, but even more surprised at what I saw. His were mandibles parted, showing his sharp dog-like fangs as he stared ahead with completely black eyes. A chill creeped up my spine and I shuddered. In all but three seconds, the growl disappeared and he blinked, his familiar brown eyes moving to look down at me. "If this is the case, then I believe so."

…

I stepped onto the bridge, my hand snapping to salute the commanding officers awaiting my arrival. They returned it, and they immediately got down to business. I was told about what was going on, possible suspects, about the target; everything. When the head scientist entered the room, my gut sank. He told me _everything._ The chemicals, the processes, the risks, how the target would be reacting to this and that, the _experiments._ I had the knowledge that the target was being experimented on, but these experiments are… _inhumane._

I gave myself a mental shake. My job is to follow orders, no matter the… _details_ they contain.

"There's a list of people who are under our radar, containing the ones from the ship you were previously stationed at." The Sergeant said, handing me a data pad. My eyes darted to it when I took it, attaching it to my hip magnetically as I nodded.

_Find a drugged elite on a ship this size. Easy._

Why did I say that?

…

_Hey mom and dad._

_How is everything? Everyone's fine here, Jacob's okay and so am I. Nothing really new to report, other than meeting some new friends._

_Missions are good, injuries kept to a minimum._

_How is everything there? Thanks for the cookies by the way, I'm munching on one now as I write. It's delicious mom. I'll share some with Jacob, and I'm sure you've sent him some too. I'm not sure if the thing between him and you mom is still going on, but if it is I'll keep giving you updates on him._

_Crap, gotta go, we're doing this… I don't know, a drill? Yeah, a drill. Anyways, see you._

_-Jay_

I sighed, head in my palms as a chocolate chip cookie hung from my mouth. I looked up after a moment before grabbing another sheet of stationary.

_Dear Dad,_

_Has mom gotten her letter? Yes? Good._

_Okay, here's what's __really__ going down._

_Helix VI was a disaster. A fight around every corner it seemed._

_Don't freak, but I met an elite. Yeah, a real live elite that didn't try and kill me. Well, he _did_ hold a gun to my head, but he was injured so that doesn't count. I got separated from my group and wandered around a little bit, that's when I met him. He had a slash to his lower torso, below his stomach I think. His organs weren't damaged, thankfully, so it was just, literally, a flesh wound. I sewed it up, the gun to my head almost the whole time, before he left. And guess what? We exchanged names! Yeah, I couldn't understand a word he said, but when I said my name he said his. Zeuk. Isn't that an awesome name? I know that was his name because my other buddy confirmed it. Yeah… you know not to tell anybody, besides Ty of course (just wrote his letter explaining everything. I know you like him, don't deny it. You two joke around all the time when he's over. Anyways) but I have _**another**_ elite buddy. His name is Gro 'Amalok and he's currently staying with me during our trip. Freaked yet? He was being used as an experiment for those evil scientists! I had to help him! It's only been a few hours and they're already looking high and low for him. They wouldn't check an innocent, pretty-much-rookie _girl's_ room would they? Haha, but no, it's awesome learning from my elite friend. Well, from what he says, his species is _Sangheili_, but that takes a while to write and I'm lazy. I'm a lazy Marine. Haha, that so doesn't go together._

_Anyways, here's the other part._

_Back on Helix VI, I kinda… well, I died. Twice. Yes, I've come back from the grave to haunt Jacob double the amount._

_No, seriously, this guy with blue hair had to give me mouth to mouth the first time I died. _Yuck.

_Not yuck because of his blue hair, heck he helped me out when we were escaping from our last ship (I'll explain later). I owe him my life, twice now. He brought me back from the dead, and he lugged around my weight for about a mile in space. Haha… I don't weigh that much, do I? Don't answer that._

_Anyways, back on Helix VI plasma was shot at me and hit me in the left shoulder, burning through my flesh and bones and exposed my heart while eating half a lung. They replaced the lung, bones, and skin, and everything's okay now. And now I've got this awesome scar! Instead of two tones of skin (thankfully they chose not to use someone else's skin. Ew.), they took my skin cells, grew and sped them up, and stitched it back onto me. Now I have this little rise in my skin, a little red, and the black thread is still there. Which reminds me, I'll have to get them to get that out… maybe on the next ship we're on. I don't exactly trust anyone on this ship (besides my friends) after finding Gro. Yes, I'd get in major shit if I get caught, but I can't let him be tested on again. They were seeing what types of chemicals would kill him! Hell, I'm not sure if his body isn't poisoned or not, they could've gave him some long lasting poison that kills within hours instead of just minutes. Grr it's making me so angry just thinking about those damn techies hurt my friend! It's only been a few hours since meeting him but I've already become attached to him!_

_Oh, and another thing, from mom's last letter. I got a tattoo. Hee hee. Don't tell. But it _**WAS**_ on the place over my heart, but because of the incident, they had to remove it in order for it not to look funny. But on my right shoulder, I got a marine tattoo. I'll have to show you next time we visit. It's sweet! I'm thinking of getting my destroyed tattoo redone, oh that was the kanji for "war" there, but I'm still thinking about it. Oh well, I hurt more than enough right now, maybe later when I'm, oh I don't know, _not_ hurting all the time._

_Is mom still trying to make it up to Jacob? He seemed a little… moody this morning. I passed him on the way back from breakfast and he just mumbled a "hi" to me. Usually he gives me a grin, being the damned morning person he is, and bitch at me for eating junk food for breakfast. Haha, I almost missed it this morning. Anyways, I hope I didn't cause you to get a heart attack from this letter. How's your leg? I heard about it from mom. Tsk tsk, you should've known from last time not to climb the ladder _AND_ try and do something other than changing a light bulb._

_I know you hate me keeping all this from mom, but if she knew what really was going on then she'd freak and make me come home. I hate it there, you know that dad! You two might like it there, but it's just too… _perfect._ Sigh._

_Well I think that's all… I have to think about Gro and my plan to get him back to his buddies. If we delay it too long, they'll think he's either dead, or a heretic. Stupid, yeah, he kind of (but won't really admit it) thinks so too._

_Love you very much dad,_

_Jay_

I winced, unable to write that they put some sort of experimental metal in me as my bones. He'd probably sue if he knew that, and that wouldn't go over well for our family since ONI, being the sneaky bastards that they are, would win and get a lot of money or something. Pfft. I always feel that I can tell my dad anything, we always did things together when I was still back on Harmony. If mom found out the truth... well it's just good that at least one parent knows the truth and won't freak out over nothing.

I glanced down.

Okay, it's not nothing but still.

I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair, the plan thought out so far running through my head and going over each and every possibility I could think of. So far I've come up with 31 outcomes, only 2 involves both of us succeeding. Oh wait someone could have trashed his armor. 32.

_Sigh._ This is going to be interesting.

…

My name is classified, my rank is classified, hell even my _identity_ is classified. I come from Harvest, I have a record of victories and reluctant losses, I kill for a living, I am a subject in the Spartan II program, specializing in stealth and assassination. My friends call me Larry.

Right now, my mission is to hunt down a certain experiment and his accomplice on the ship I am currently stationed at.

My eyes watched as a marine exited their room, walking the opposite way from me. My eyes narrowed and I followed, determined to see any suspicious behavior. The data pad the Captain and the other higher ups gave me had a list of all the occupants on the ship, including the newcomers from the destroyed _Ass Kicker._ So far, out of the hundreds in that list, I've narrowed it down to almost 25%. I'm getting closer and closer to finding who is helping the elite, and I will put an end to this.

This elite will not leave the ship alive.


	12. Too tired to think of one

**A/N: Okay guys, not going to lie, but I'm completely disappointed in this chapter. You probably are too, since it's been about two or three months since my last update. For that I am so sorry, and I am ashamed that I prolonged this chapter for so long. To Nuttex and mckeown and who ever I have not mentioned, I'm so sorry for the late update. I told you guys that it'd be done in a week... that was about three weeks ago. Some crap came up, I got an idea after two months, wrote some, then got stuck and that's where I am now. With that new idea I thought writing this would've been a walk in the park since it seemed like such a great idea, but I could only get about two paragraphs out before it died. Thanks to... crap, I forget who gave me those cool ideas. Gah, sorry guys it's a quarter to midnight, I'm functioning at full speed just to stay awake. KIRAKE! Yes, just had a reversed brain fart. **

**...**

**OK that sounded really weird. DON'T CARE. IT'S 12 NOW.**

**Meh**

**Anyways, thanks to Kirake for giving me one of the ideas I used in this chapter. With this pathetic chapter the word count will be passed 30 thousand. yay.**

**Okay, I have more to say but I'm too damned tired to type anymore. T_T"**

**Enjoy and goodnight**

- - - ... ... ... ... ...

"What is… Ah-mere-ee-kah?" I looked over my shoulder without really looking, my

"America, and that's a country. Also known as the US or United States of America."

"Country? America is all farmland?"

"No. Country is farmland, yes, but country is also like… like a territory." He stared at the wall for a moment, then nodded, his jaws parting in a silent 'ah…' of understanding. A knock on the door sent him leaping up and tensing his muscles. I stood and put a hand on his arm, to which it twitched at the contact, before stepping towards the door.

"Calm down, the stress will worsen your wounds." He didn't say anything, just slipped off into the bathroom, going behind the shower curtains. The door was open, and no doubt he was able to listen to everything that could be said and done in the room. I shook my head before making my way towards the door. Another knock sounded, causing me to sigh as the door slid open.

A man stood there, fist poised to knock once more, and I narrowed my eyes, blowing a puff of air out.

"At least give me enough time to answer my door. Yeesh, it's like you expect me to stand around at the door all day just waiting for someone like you to come around." I narrowed my eyes further. "And what happened to Andy? Where is he?" Remember Andy? He still delivers mail during lunch time whenever there is any. He says it had become a hobby of his.

"Sick. I came to inform you, since you are someone who regularly sends out paper mail, that a mail carrier heading to the Gleon galaxy got destroyed in a Covenant raid. All documents and mail lost, so in short; anything you sent is gone. Goodbye." He promptly walked away. I blinked, huffed, then closed the door with a "thanks" before the doors slid closed. Immediately the anger in my gut came out my mouth. Yeesh that sounded kind of gross.

"The hell? This is just fucking great. And now I don't even remember what I wrote down in the letters! Fuck!" Gro chose that moment to stick his head out the door.

"What happened?" He came out all the way, picking up the discarded history book he was reading before the interruption and set himself on the bed once more.

"The Covenant blew up the ship that was carrying the mail. Everything I wrote to my parents and friend got destroyed and now I don't even remember what I wrote." I dropped to the floor and spread my arms out in aggravation.

"Why not look at the letters they previously sent you?" He suggested absent-mindedly, already engrossed into the book once more. I sat up, blinking before slapping my forehead.

"That completely slipped my mind." I said lamely. "Thanks." I hopped to my feet and went over to the desk, opening a near empty drawer, filled with only a handful of envelopes and letters. All other documents were on my previous ship, being lost in the destruction. I grabbed the first few envelopes and sat myself into the chair, leaning back as I sorted through the letters, reading the first few sentences of each to recall when I got them and how long ago it was. Finally, I found my mom's last letter. Pulling out a pen, I wondered if I should just flat out mention the fact that I've met two aliens to both parents, instead of just my dad. Shaking my head at the mental image of my mother hunting me down and dragging me back home, I cancelled that thought and placed a cookie in my mouth, seeing Gro do the same in the corner of my eye.

_Dear mom and dad,_

_Sorry this is later than usual, the ship that was transporting mail got raided and destroyed, so all the contents were lost._

_Anyways, basically what I said in the last letter was that I liked the cookies you sent, me and a friend are actually snacking on them right now (yay unhealthy breakfast), and that I was going to tell dad to keep his butt off the ladder and let Uncle Kenny do all the house maintenance from now on. Yes, I know he won't even consider that. But at least think about it instead of breaking your leg next time the house needs a light bulb fixed. I was also wondering if the feud between mom and Jacob is still going on; Jacob seemed… less of the morning person. More moody. Other than that, he's fine. It might just be trouble with his girlfriend with the whole long distance relationship. Oh well, it'll all work out; you know those two._

_Hate for this to be short, but I got to go. Me and my friend need to go over some battle plans for our next mission._

_Write to you soon,_

_Jay_

I sat back, getting out another sheet of paper before pausing.

Should my dad know about Gro and Zeuk? Hell, should he even know about my arm?

I set the paper back down, my gaze on the wall as I thought about this. On second thought, he would probably do the same thing my mom would do. Even though he is the cool, mellow parent of the two while she's the girly worry wart.

I shook my head.

Maybe the thing with the mail carrier wasn't just an accident, maybe someone up there is giving me a sign that either of my parents shouldn't know what's going on, to hide the truth from them for their own protection. I shook my head again, a smirk tugging at my lips.

When the hell did I get religious all of a sudden?

I shrugged and put the letter in an envelope and set it aside for later use, glancing at Gro as he took another handful of cookies. It didn't matter, mom always packs a lot. Plus, I think Gro likes them. Hmm, wonder when Ty will get his letter. His ship is in a completely different galaxy than my parents, so that kind of mail requires another ship since it's in the exact opposite direction.

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. I opened my eyes and glanced at the clock. 5:30 am. Breakfast would be serving soon. I looked over to see Gro taking a elite hand full of cookies, look at me, then slowly put some back. I laughed.

Getting up, I stretched with a glance at the clock.

"Alright, Gro, what'd you like to eat?" I looked at him, his eyes looking to the right in thought.

"Anything is acceptable, human." I rolled my eyes, heading towards the door.

"Alright then, just don't eat too many cookies. We don't even know what chocolate can do to you." I felt his eyes on my back before I got to the door, making me stop when he spoke.

"What do you mean?" I looked over my shoulder to see his eyes looking straight at me.

"I mean we don't know if you're allergic to chocolate or not." I shrugged. "Even if you were, I'm sure it'd only be a rash. You and I aren't that different, right?" He looked at me for a moment longer, then nodded shortly. Satisfied, I turned back around, the door sliding open and I disappeared into the hall, leaving Gro watching me leave with narrowed eyes.

… … … … … … … …

"Gro, I've got food!" The door slid closed. Kicking off my shoes, I looked up, frowning. "Gro?" No answer. I set the food down on the nightstand, looking on the other side of the bed and more around the room. A shaky smile came to my lips. "Gro, is this some kind of game?" I glanced around the room again, looking in the corners and shady spots he usually hides in when someone comes to the door. "Gro, this isn't funny anymore. Where are you?" The smile was long gone by the time panic started coursing through my body. I ran into the bathroom, looking behind the curtain, even the too-small-of-a cupboard beneath the sink. "Gro?"

Silence.

I sank down, sitting on my bed, looking around in disbelief, thinking he'll just pop out of nowhere, like elites normally seem to do… but no…

_Gro… He's gone…_


End file.
